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1. Original jurisdiction is the jurisdiction of the courts that hear a case first,

usually in a trial. These are the courts that determine the facts about a

case. Appellate jurisdiction is the jurisdiction of courts that hear cases

brought to them on appeal from lower courts. These courts do not review

the factual record, only the legal issues involved.

2. Appellate courts only look at the legal issues involved in a case.

3. “Standing”, or locus standi,is the ability of a party to demonstrate to the

court sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged

to support that party's participation in the case. For example, a person

cannot bring a suit challenging the constitutionality of a law unless the

plaintiff can demonstrate that the plaintiff is (or will be) harmed by the

law. Otherwise, the court will rule that the plaintiff "lacks standing" to

bring the suit, and will dismiss the case without considering the merits of

the claim of unconstitutionality.

4. Senatorial courtesy is an unwritten tradition whereby nominations for

state-level federal judicial posts are not confirmed if they are opposed by

the senator from the state in which the nominee will serve. The tradition

also applies to courts of appeal when there is opposition from the

nominee’s state senator, if the senator belongs to the president’s party.

5. In 1953, Warren was appointed Chief Justice of the United States by

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who wanted a very conservative justice

and commented that "he represents the kind of political, economic, and

social thinking that I believe we need on the Supreme Court..." To the

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surprise of many, Warren was a much more liberal justice than had been

anticipated. As a result, President Eisenhower is said to have remarked

that nominating Warren for the Chief Justice seat was "the biggest

damned-fool mistake I ever made." President Eisenhower was also

disappointed in his nomination of William Brennan. An outspoken liberal

throughout his career, Brennan played a leading role in the Warren Court's

dramatic expansion of individual rights.

6. In the arena of civil rights, the Warren Court played a very activist role,

making huge decisions such as Brown v Board of Education(1954), and

redefining the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. In Brown v Board

of Education, the Court stated that “in the field of public education the

doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place….Segregation is a denial of

the equal protection of the laws.” Brown v Board of Education put an end

to segregation by law, even thought some states tried to circumvent

certain aspects of segregation.

7. Cases that involve major issues –especially civil liberties, conflict between

different lower courts on the interpretation of federal law, or

disagreement between a majority of the Supreme Court and lower-court

decisions –are likely to be selected by the Court. The Court avoids

deciding cases that are too politically “hot” to handle or that divide the

Court too sharply.

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8. Until the 1980s, the approval process of Justices werefrequently quick.

From the Truman through Nixon administrations, Justices were typically

approved within one month. Since the Reagan administration, however,

the process now takesmuch longer. Some speculate this is because of the

increasingly political role Supreme Court Justices are said to play. As a

general rule, Presidents nominate individuals who broadly share their

ideological views. However, nominees whose views are perceived as

extreme may be blocked by the Senate.

Several factors influence a president’s selection of a Supreme Court

Justice. The first is political parties. Usually more than 90 percent of

presidents’ judicial nominations are members of their own parties.

Secondly, Presidents’ most often pick nominees who have the same

ideology as them. They try to “pack” (reference to FDR Era) the courts

with people who they know will agree with them on certain policies.

Presidents also tend to choose distinguished and extremely intelligent

men and women. Typically, Justices have held high administrative or

judicial positions before moving to the Supreme Court. In recent years,

race and gender have become important criteria. For instance, the former

President Bush chose to replace the first African-American justice,

Thurgood Marshall, with another African-American Clarence Thomas.

Thus, presidents try to influence policy through their judicial nominees.

When it comes to approving the President’s nominees, the Senate has

become increasingly partisan, or arguable. For instance, when Justice

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Lewis Powell retired in July 1987, Reagan nominated Robert Bork. Bork

lost confirmation by a Senate vote of 42 to 58, largely because he had

written about his views on many controversial constitutional issues.

Because his position as an originalist and a conservative was well-known,

many interest groups moved to block his nomination. Reagan then

announced his intention to nominate Douglas H. Ginsburg to the court.

Before Ginsburg could be officially nominated, he withdrew himself from

consideration under heavy pressure after revealing that he had smoked

marijuana with his students while a professor at Harvard Law School.

Reagan then nominated Anthony Kennedy, who was confirmed by a

Senate vote of 97-0.

A similar, yet successful nomination can be seen in the former

President Bush’s nomination of Clarence Thomas to replace Thurgood

Marshall. Marshall had been the only black justice on the court. While the

selection of Thomas preserved the existing racial balance of the court, it

was seen as a move to the ideological balance to the right. The

appointment Of Thomas Clarence was opposed by many organizations

including the NAACP, the Urban League, and NOW based on Thomas's

criticism of affirmative action and suspicions that Thomas might not be a

supporter of the Supreme Court judgment in Roe v. Wade. Towards the

end of confirmation hearings, Thomas was charged with sexual

harassment. After two weeks of riveting hearings in which he was

charged, the Senate confirmed Thomas’ nomination, making it the closest

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confirmation vote for a Justice in the 20th century. There are many

factors which influence a president’s selection of a Supreme Court Justice.