Earlier this week, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer announced his intent to retire from the U.S. Supreme Court at the end of this term. The vacancy will be the first on the high court for President Biden, who has spent much of his first year in office filling vacancies in the U.S. District Courts and Circuit Courts of Appeals. (A running list of confirmed judicial nominations, as well as all judicial nominations, is available at the Senate Judiciary Committee website. Similar data can be found on the Judicial Vacancies page at the U.S. Courts.)
President Biden had pledged on the campaign trail to nominate the Court's first Black female justice in the event of a vacancy during his presidency, a promise he reaffirmed at the White House yesterday following Breyer’s announcement. Washington insiders have circulated a shortlist of likely nominees, including current D.C. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, and Judge J. Michelle Childs of the U.S. District Court for South Carolina (who is currently a pending Biden nominee for the D.C. Circuit). The ABA Journal places both Jackson and Kruger at the top of the potential nominee list, and also highlights the credentials of a few other candidates.
As outlined in a recently-updated CRS Report on Supreme Court Nominations, both the President and the legislative branch play an important role in confirming a new Supreme Court justice. Following the President’s nomination, the Senate Judiciary Committee conducts investigation, including hearings, with the nominee before a confirmation vote. The CRS report provides a comprehensive overview of this process throughout American history, with data tables about past nominations.
At yesterday's press conference, the president noted that he expected to announce a nominee by the end of February. Justice Breyer expressed hope that his successor will be confirmed by the time he steps down in the summer, following the conclusion of the Court's term. Expect the process to receive extensive coverage in the media, and follow the latest developments on legal news sites like ABA Journal and SCOTUSblog in addition to mainstream news outlets.
For more information about the history and operation of the U.S. Supreme Court, check out the library’s research guide. For help locating resources related to the Supreme Court justices or the nomination process, be sure to Ask a Librarian.
Posts
