Congress and the Courts

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Congress and the Courts

• November 27, 2005

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Discussion Points

• Structure of the federal judiciary
• Constitutional controls
• Confirmation politics
• Statutory interpretation battles

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(No Transcript)
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Structure of the Federal Judiciary
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9th Circuit Court of Appeals

• Alaska (1 district)
• Arizona (1)
• California (4)
• Hawaii (1)
• Idaho (1)
• Montana (1)
• Nevada (1)
• Oregon (1)
• Washington (2)
• Guam (1)
• Northern Mariana Islands (1)
• Virgin Islands (1)

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Constitutional Controls

• Article I 8 (Powers of Congress)
• To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme
  Court
• To make all Laws which shall be necessary and
  proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing
  Powers

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Congressional Checks on the Court

• Withdrawal of jurisdiction
• Impeachment of judges
• Size, procedure, and pay
• Constitutional amendments

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Constitutional Controls

• Article I 8 (Powers of Congress)
• To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme
  Court
• To make all Laws which shall be necessary and
  proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing
  Powers
• Article I 9 (Limitations)
• No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but
  in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law

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Judiciary Budget
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Confirmation Politics

• President appoints by and with the Advice and
  Consent of the Senate

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Confirmation Politics

• President appoints by and with the Advice and
  Consent of the Senate

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Confirmation Rates, 1947-2002
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Average Delay, 1947-2002
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Failed Supreme Court Nominations
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Why Do Nominations Fail?

• Senatorial courtesy
• Partisan bickering
• Presidential elections
• Divided government
• Evenly divided benches

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Why More Contentious?

• Partisan polarization
• Partisan balance in the courts
• Courts are increasingly important in the
  policy-making process
• Statutory construction

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Cases Filed in District Courts
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Civil Cases Filed
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ADA Example

• United airlines refused to hire two pilots with
  bad uncorrected vision--pilots sued under ADA
• Does the ADA apply to workers whose disabilities
  can be treated?
• Expansive v. narrow reading of disability
• SCOTUS upheld the narrow reading

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Why Policy Questions?

• Statutory language is often vague
• Arcane policy language can have broad
  consequences
• However, courts are not the final word on
  statutory interpretation.

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Congressional Overrides
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Models of Overrides
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Models of Overrides
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Models of Overrides
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Models of Overrides
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Open Deliberation
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Deliberation and Consensus
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Overrides . . .

• Are generally pluralistic (56)
• Tend to generate consensus
• Are open processes
• Resolve override issue
• Are rarely captured (5)
• Are sometimes hyperpluralistic (36)

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Conclusions

• Lots of conflict over the courts
• Not just about nominations
• Courts are policy-making institutions