Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Breaking The Cycle: The Rise Of Contentiousness In Judicial Nominations, Patrick Morrow Boland

Honors Theses

This examination begins with a presentation of data collected concerning judicial nominations from 1988 through 2008 in an attempt to document the fact that the federal judicial appointments process has become increasingly contentious. The tables and figures provide information on measures of contentiousness such as length of time from nomination to confirmation and vote totals for nominees. After documenting the increasingly contentious nature of the process, I explore the qualities that make a “good” judge, and federal judicial selection prior to 1989 to determine whether partisan and ideological considerations have any relevance in selecting and appointing federal judges. With this …