Politics shape the Supreme Court
Kelley Kates
Issue date: 10/12/09 Section: News
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Last Monday evening, the Plaza Branch Library hosted a forum where Dr. David Atkinson, UMKC's Curators' Distinguished Teaching Professor of Political Science and Law, discussed the controversial appointments of Supreme Court Justices.
The lecture, "Appointing the Supreme Court: From Truman to Obama," focused on the appointment process and what types of considerations are made and the recent history of politicking involved in nominations.
Atkinson has been a student of the Court for more than 40 years and teaches several courses focusing on the Constitution as well as past and present Supreme Court Justices and their decisions.
"The process remains as it was when Lincoln chose Salmon Chase as chief justice," Atkinson said.
This nomination exemplified how a president may choose a candidate based on their political issues.
Atkinson said Lincoln was concerned with two areas: slavery and paper money. Chase's ideals fit with Lincoln's, yet Chase voted against the Legal Tender Act to Lincoln's disappointment.
Atkinson said political affiliation will determine who the president appoints to the Court, but other factors are also examined. Age, geography, race, religion and sex are also factors.
President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice and President Reagan appointed the first female Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor.
President Harry S. Truman had the luxury of appointing four justices to the Supreme Court during his two-term presidency. His first appointment, Harold Burton, was a pick that allowed Truman to reach out to the Republican Party, Atkinson said.
In 1946, Truman replaced Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone with his close friend and Treasury Secretary, Fred Vinson, after Fiske collapsed on the bench and died.
Atkinson said Truman felt Vinson was ideal due to his time spent in the House of Representatives and his tax expertise. Vinson was a key player in developing the Social Security Act.
Vinson entered into an uneasy situation because the Court was divided and Robert Jackson had been promised the Chief Justice position by Roosevelt before he died while in office. Jackson also believed Justices Hugo Black and William Douglas were undermining him to Truman while he was in Nuremberg, Germany prosecuting Nazis. Atkinson said the Court was quarrelsome during Vinson's reign.
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