Contemporary Debates

Acknowledgments
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Chapter 1. Nominations, Confirmations, and Departures of Federal Judges
Q1. Are nominations and confirmations to the federal bench based on factors beyond merit?
Q2. Do outside organizations influence whom the president nominates to the federal bench?
Q3. Do interest groups influence the Supreme Court confirmation process?
Q4. Is it unusual for the Senate to reject a Supreme Court nominee?
Q5. Was the Senateâs refusal to take action on President Obamaâs Supreme Court nomination of Merrick Garland really unprecedented?
Q6. Are Supreme Court confirmation hearings a âvapid and hollow charadeâ?
Q7. Is the timing of judicial retirements from the Supreme Court influenced by politics?
Q8. Did President Trumpâs judicial appointments fundamentally re-make the federal judiciary for decades to come?

Chapter 2. Judicial Elections to State Courts
Q9. Have contested judicial elections become more political over recent decades?
Q10. Are nonpartisan judicial elections less political than partisan judicial elections?
Q11. Has politicization of judicial retention elections increased?
Q12. Does the growth of campaign spending by interest groups affect judicial independence?
Q13. Do politicized judicial elections threaten the legitimacy of state courts?

Chapter 3. Structures Affecting the Courts
Q14. Has Congress or the president ever sought to adjust the size of the Supreme Court for political gain?
Q15. Can Congress strip the Supreme Court and lower federal courts of their jurisdiction?
Q16. Would term limits make the Supreme Court less politicized?
Q17. Was the end of the filibuster in federal judicial confirmations a historic rule change?
Q18. Is the end of the filibuster in federal judicial confirmations likely to increase polarization on
the federal courts?

Chapter 4. Decisions and Decision Making
Q19. Are Supreme Court justices influenced by public opinion?
Q20. Do judgesâ political attitudes and ideologies influence their legal decisions?
Q21. Did the Supreme Courtâs âswitch in time that saved nineâ occur in direct response to external political pressure?
Q22. Is the influence of amicus briefs on the Supreme Court growing?
Q23. Is the Supreme Court using the âshadow docketâ more frequently?

Chapter 5. Public Perceptions of the Judiciary
Q24. Is public faith and confidence in the Supreme Court in decline?
Q25. Does the public believe the courts are political and partisan?
Q26. Does the publicâs perception of the judiciary vary by party affiliation?
Q27. Has the judicial philosophy known as âoriginalismâ become dominant in American jurisprudence and accepted by the public?

Chapter 6. Politicization, Partisanship, and Legitimacy
Q28. Were President Trumpâs criticisms of the judiciary unusual?
Q29. Has the Supreme Court become more partisan?
Q30. Is the Supreme Court facing a legitimacy crisis?

Subject Index
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