The Ideological Fight for the Federal Courts: Conservative Success in Judicial Appointments

Presenter

Rin Hurd

Campus

UMass Boston

Sponsor

Elizabeth Bussiere, Department of Political Science, UMass Boston

Schedule

Session 3, 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A19, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 1 (A1-A20) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

This research addresses the question of why the Republican Right has generally been more effective in the arena of federal judicial selection than the Progressive Left has been since the end of the Warren Court era in the late 1960s.  My research to date reveals several factors at work.  On the Republican side, there have been important developments, including:  the establishment of the Federalist Society in 1982; conservatives’ consensus on the constitutional theory of “originalism” (i.e., that judges should interpret the Constitution in accordance with its original meaning); the centering of Supreme Court and lower federal court appointments by Republicans in presidential and Senate election campaigns and administrations; the willingness of different conservative organizations to set aside differences in order to advance particular causes; and a concerted and successful effort by the Right to “market” their judicial philosophy and to cast Progressives as pushing a constitutional vision that is antithetical to America’s roots and foundational values.  On the Progressive side, far less attention has been paid to the federal judiciary until recently.  Even with Progressives giving greater priority to the matter, there appears to be much less consensus among them about what is the proper mode of constitutional interpretation and what role the Supreme Court and federal courts should play. As a fairly new countermovement, Progressives also face multiple systemic and organizational barriers created by the now dominant Conservative regime. In the concluding section, I will explore the implications of my findings.

Keywords

Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals, Originalism, Living Constitutionalism, Federal Judicial Nominations

Research Area

Law and Legal Studies

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