Judicial independence lets appointed justices shed partisanship and change their views

Evidence

In addition, presidents often do not anticipate changes over time in the issues confronting the Court and, therefore, do not probe a nominee’s views on unforeseen issues. Thus, although President Nixon appointed Justice Harry Blackmun to the Court, expecting that he would take a conservative position on the rights of defendants, Blackmun is best known for his opinion in Roe v. Wade (1973), announcing that the Constitution safeguarded a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. Indeed, in the years since that decision, Blackmun frequently aligned himself with the liberal wing of the Court. In sum, once appointed, a justice’s perspective may change. Judicial independence allows justices to shed their partisanship and change their views. When this happens, there is nothing the appointing president can do. As legal scholar Alexander Bickel observes, “You shoot an arrow into a far-distant future when you appoint a Justice and not the man himself can tell you what he will think about some of the problems he will face.” — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 539

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the course theme of judicial independence vs. accountability and the strategic-appointment debate in the study of courts. — connects to: Congress weaponizes new judgeship creation to favor the appointing president’s party — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 462; Judicial ethics and independence prevent justices from trading votes or applying pressure — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1563; Political selection fills the courts with judges holding established partisan views — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2571 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Sitting justices rarely change views, so screening nominees works #contradicts (0.93) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 540
• Supreme Court conference discussions rarely change justices’ pre-formed views #contradicts (0.92) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1562
• Political selection fills the courts with judges holding established partisan views #contradicts (0.88) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2571
• Justices who favor an outcome personally may still suppress those views on role-conception grounds. #qualifies (0.82) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1288
• Judicial ethics and independence prevent justices from trading votes or applying pressure #qualifies (0.78) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1563
• Justices bargain over opinion drafts, trading requested changes for votes to join. #complicates (0.76) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1568