POL 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Neil Gorsuch, Precedent
Document Summary
Structure of the court can fluctuate: 9 members, vacancy for 2016 when one member passed which left supreme court with only 8 members. Hot button issues can make people into single-minded voters: a democratic voter would not vote for president who would elect pro-life justice to the supreme. Court: litmus test: when you nominate someone from the supreme court, you"ll only nominate them regarding a single issue, roe v. wade and abortion issues. Immigration issues: trump"s nomination of neil gorsuch. Supreme court justices may retire when someone of their political party is in office in order to secure their party"s representation in the supreme court. There are various levels of the court system which build up to the supreme court: supreme court: the highest level which you may appeal your case to. Judges are not supposed to make decisions on political terms, and in this case, the decision was very clearly made on political terms.
