Senate initiations and presidential involvement in appointments vary by court level

Evidence

The reality of federal judicial selection is more complex than the constitutional text suggests. Historically, the respective influence of the president and the Senate on selection has differed depending on the level of court, the importance the president attaches to judicial appointments, and whether a single party controls the presidency and the Senate. Members of the Senate have often played the initiating role in selecting lower court judges. When a justice of the Supreme Court is appointed, the president is actively involved. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 650

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the chapter 23 finding that no judicial selection system fully eliminates political influence, and to governor control over state selection. — connects to: Constitutional design gives the president and Senate shared federal judicial appointment power — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 646; Interest groups increasingly influence federal appeals court nominations — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 514; Political selection fills the courts with judges holding established partisan views — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2571 (+10 more)

Broader Connections

• Political selection fills the courts with judges holding established partisan views #expands (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2571
• Political actors’ influence varies with opportunity, position, and skill #expands (0.72)
• Party influence on judges works through shared values, not direct commands #responds-to (0.72) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 605