Practical Politics: Explaining Duration Variation in the Judicial Appointment Process Öffentlichkeit
Hartsough, Rebecca (Spring 2018)
Published
Abstract
In the realm of American judicial politics, scholars have consistently explored the selection and appointment of federal judges. In recent decades, however, much of the work on the federal judicial appointment process has been concerned with the perceived delays in the process, both at the presidential nomination stage and the Senate confirmation stage. Thus far, these scientists have attributed the variation in appointment durations to partisan gridlock and changing political conditions. In this dissertation, I present the argument that judiciary-specific conditions and the functioning of federal courts play a role in how political actors approach judicial selection. Of course, this is not to say that politics do not matter, rather that politics alone fails to capture the dynamics conditioning the timing of federal judicial nominations and confirmations. This dissertation replicates and assesses the effects of political variables scholars have previously identified as influencing appointment durations as well as introduces and evaluates the impact of judiciary-specific variables on presidential nomination and Senate confirmation timing. On the whole, this study confirms that political institutions still impact the speed of the appointment process, but also reveals so too do the previously unidentified judiciary-specific variables. The evidence suggests that presidents and senators do factor in the operations and functioning of the federal courts as they proceed in their constitutional appointment roles.
Table of Contents
Contents
Chapter 1—Introduction 1
Chapter 2—Literature Review 8
The Nomination Stage…………………………………………………………9
The Confirmation Stage……………………………………………………...23
Chapter 3—Theory 37
Political Conditions……………………………………………………………38
Conditions Affecting the Judiciary's Functional Operations……………...55
Final Remarks…………………………………………………………………66
Chapter 4—Data & Models 68
Empirical Analyses……………………………………………………………69
Independent Variables………………………………………………………..73
Model Estimation……………………………………………………………...79
Extensions of the Model……………………………………………………...79
The Interviews…………………………………………………………………80
Chapter 5—Presidential Nomination Analysis 83
Presidential Nomination Model
First Iteration.................................................................................84
Presidential Nomination Model Extension
Divided vs. Unified Government..................................................102
Presidential Nomination Model Extension
1973-1992 vs. 1993-2012...........................................................116
Summation.............................................................................................130
Final Remarks........................................................................................154
Chapter 6—Senate Confirmation Analysis 155
Senate Confirmation Model
First Iteration...............................................................................155
Senate Confirmation Model Extension
Divided vs. Unified Government..................................................175
Senate Confirmation Model Extension
1973-1992 vs. 1993-2012...........................................................188
Summation.............................................................................................201
Final Remarks........................................................................................223
Chapter 7—Conclusion 225
Summary of Findings.............................................................................226
Study Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research.......................236
Final Observations.........................................................................,.......238
Bibliography....................................................................................................240
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