NCJ Number
111924
Journal
Judicature Volume: 71 Issue: 6 Dated: (April-May 1988) Pages: 317-324
Date Published
1988
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Research into Federal judicial recruitment and selection processes has been eclectic, programmatic and policy-oriented in its implications.
Abstract
A 1984 analysis by Solomon examined the judicial appointments of Presidents Theodore through Franklin Roosevelt in terms of patronage, professionalism, and policy motivations. Studies by Goldman and Fowler have compared and contrasted judicial appointees since the Eisenhower administration and the evolution of appointment processes, as well as executive/congressional relationships in the appointment process. Slotnick examined the importance of the formal judicial selection system for selection outcomes, while Songer considered the policy consequences of Senate involvement in the selection of appellate judges. Other studies have attempted to assess the policy implications of presidential appointment for questions of elite recrutiment and representation and for affirmative action in juidicial staffing. Gottschall attempted to assess the consequences for judicial decisionmaking patterns of the courts of appeals of Carter's affirmative action and Reagan's ideologically oriented emphases in judicial appointments. Slotnick examined the role of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary in appointment and the correlates of the committee's rating, while other studies have examined the Supreme Court appointment process and political influences on it. 43 footnotes.