Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T23:24:43.542Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Lower Federal Court Judicial Confirmation Fights: A Critical Review of the Empirical Literature and Future Research Directions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 December 2013

Salmon A. Shomade ,
Roger E. Hartley  and
Lisa M. Holmes
Salmon A. Shomade
Affiliation:
University of New Orleans
Roger E. Hartley
Affiliation:
Western Carolina University
Lisa M. Holmes
Affiliation:
University of Vermont
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Unlike the massive literature about US Supreme Court confirmation battles, little has been written about lower federal court confirmation fights. However, in the past 20 years much has been written about the lower federal court confirmation process. Here, we take stock of the political science literature in this area and highlight where scholarly interest appears to be going. Believing a contemporary assessment of the state of the field should be of interest and use to scholars of American politics, we dissect the recent empirical literature and offer suggestions for future research. Most importantly, we offer a one-stop shop for recent literature for scholars interested in this topic.

Type
Features
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 47 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 149 - 164
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allison, Garland W. 1996. “Delay in the Senate Confirmation of Federal Court Nominees.” Judicature 80: 8–15.Google Scholar
Basinger, Scott, and Mak, Maxwell. 2010. “The Changing Politics of Federal Judicial Nominations.” Congress & the Presidency 37: 157–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, Lauren Cohen. 2002a. Warring Factions: Interest Groups, Money, and the New Politics of Senate Confirmation. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press.Google Scholar
Bell, Lauren Cohen. 2002b. “Senatorial Discourtesy: The Senate's Use of Delay to Shape the Federal Judiciary.” Political Research Quarterly 55: 589–607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bendery, Jennifer. 2011. “White House Poised to Take on Judicial Vacancy Crisis.” Huffington Post, June 12. Google Scholar
Binder, Sarah A. 2007. “Where Do Institutions Come From? Exploring the Origins of the Senate Blue Slip.” Studies in American Political Development 21: 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binder, Sarah A., and Maltzman, Forrest. 2002. “Senatorial Delay in Confirming Judges, 1947–1998.” American Journal of Political Science 46: 190–99.Google Scholar
Binder, Sarah A., and Maltzman, Forrest. 2004. “The Limits of Senatorial Courtesy.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 29: 5–22.Google Scholar
Brand, Rachel. 2010. “Judicial Appointments: Checks and Balances in Practice.” Harvard Society for Law and Public Policy 33: 47–52.Google Scholar
Caldeira, Gregory, Hojnacki, Marie, and Wright, John R.. 2000. “The Lobbying Activities of Organized Interests in Federal Judicial Nominations.” The Journal of Politics 62: 51–69.Google Scholar
Carney, Dan. 1997. “More Challenges to Clinton Nominees Cause Judicial Stalemate.” Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, November 22: 2912–914. Google Scholar
Casstevens, Thomas W. 1989. “The Circulation of Elites: A Review and Critique of a Class of Models.” American Journal of Political Science 33: 294–317.Google Scholar
Chase, Harold. 1972. Federal Judges: The Appointing Process. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Epstein, Lee, and Segal, Jeffrey A.. 2005. Advice and Consent: The Politics of Judicial Appointments. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Giles, Michael W., Hettinger, Virginia A., and Peppers, Todd. 2001. “Picking Federal Judges: A Note on Policy and Partisan Selection Agendas.” Political Research Quarterly 54: 623–41.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon. 1993. “Bush's Judicial Legacy: The Final Imprint.” Judicature 76: 282–97.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon. 1995. “Judicial Selection under Clinton: A Midterm Examination.” Judicature 78: 276–91.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon. 1997. Picking Federal Judges: Lower Court Selection from Roosevelt through Reagan. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon, and Saronson, Matthew D.. 1994. “Clinton's Nontraditional Judges: Creating a More Representative Bench.” Judicature 78: 68–73.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon, and Slotnick, Elliot. 1997. “Clinton's First Term Judiciary: Many Bridges to Cross.” Judicature 80: 254–73.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon, and Slotnick, Elliot. 1999. “Clinton's Second Term Judiciary: Picking Judges under Fire.” Judicature 82: 265–86.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon, Slotnick, Elliot, Gryski, Gerard, and Schiavoni, Sara. 2005. “W. Bush's Judiciary: The First Term Record.” Judicature 88: 244–75.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon, Slotnick, Elliot, Gryski, Gerard, and Schiavoni, Sara. 2007. “Picking Judges in a Time of Turmoil: W. Bush's Judiciary during the 109th Congress.” Judicature 90: 274–81.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon, Slotnick, Elliot, Gryski, Gerard, and Zuk, Gary. 2001. “Clinton's Judges: Summing up the Legacy.” Judicature 84: 228–54.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon, Slotnick, Elliot, and Schiavoni, Sara. 2011. “Obama's Judiciary at Midterm: The Confirmation Drama Continues.” Judicature 94: 262–303.Google Scholar
Haire, Susan Brodie. 2001. “Rating the Ratings of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Federal Judiciary.” Justice System Journal 22: 1.Google Scholar
Hartley, Roger E., and Holmes, Lisa M.. 1997. “Increasing Senate Scrutiny of Lower Federal Court Nominees.” Judicature 80: 274–78.Google Scholar
Hartley, Roger E., and Holmes, Lisa M.. 2002. “The Increasing Senate Scrutiny of Lower Federal Court Nominees.” Political Science Quarterly 117: 259–78.Google Scholar
Holmes, Lisa M. 2007. “Presidential Strategy in the Judicial Appointment Process: Going Public in Support of Nominees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals.” American Politics Research 35: 567–94.Google Scholar
Holmes, Lisa M. 2008. “Why ‘Go Public?’ Presidential Use of Nominees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 38: 110–22.Google Scholar
Holmes, Lisa M. 2012. “The Composition of the Federal Bench: Nominating and Confirming Judges from the Private Sector.” American Political Science Association 2012 New Orleans Conference Meeting Paper. Google Scholar
Holmes, Lisa M., Shomade, Salmon A., and Hartley, Roger E.. 2012. “The Confirmation Obstacle Course: Signaling Opposition through Delay.” The American Review of Politics 33: 23–49.Google Scholar
Krutz, Glen S., Fleisher, Richard, and Bond, Jon R.. 1998. “From Abe Fortas to Zoe Baird: Why Some Presidential Nominations Fail in the Senate.” The American Political Science Review 92: 871–81.Google Scholar
Lewis, Neil. 1997. “Republicans Begin Clearing Backlog of Nominees.” New York Times, October 25. Google Scholar
Mackenzie, G. Calvin. 1981. The Politics of Presidential Appointment. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Martinek, Wendy L., Kemper, Mark, and Van Winkle, Steven R.. 2002. “To Advise and Consent: The Senate and Lower Federal Court Nominations, 1977–2002.” The Journal of Politics 64: 337–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Massie, Tajuana D., Hansford, Thomas G., and Songer, Donald R.. 2004. “The Timing of Presidential Nominations to the Lower Federal Courts.” Political Research Quarterly 57: 145–54.Google Scholar
McCarty, Nolan, and Razaghian, Rose. 1999. “Advice and Consent: Senate Responses to Executive Branch Nominations, 1885–1996.” American Journal of Political Science 43: 1122–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McMillion, Barry J. 2013. “President Obama's First Term U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations: An Analysis and Comparison with Presidents since Reagan.” CRS Report for Congress, Washington DC: Congressional Research Service. Google Scholar
Nixon, David C., and Goss, David L.. 2001. “Confirmation Delay for Vacancies on the Circuit Courts of Appeals.” American Politics Research 29: 246–74.Google Scholar
O'Brien, David M. 1988. Judicial Roulette. Report of the Twentieth Century Fund Task Force on Judicial Selection (Background Paper). New York: Priority Press.Google Scholar
Primo, David M., Binder, Sarah A., and Maltzman, Forrest. 2008. “Who Consents? Competing Pivots in Federal Judicial Selection.” American Journal of Political Science 52: 471–89.Google Scholar
Reske, Henry J. 1997. “Withholding Consent: Senate Judiciary Chair Says He Won't Approve Activist Judges.” ABA Journal 28, February. Google Scholar
Scherer, Nancy. 2005. Scoring Points: Politicians, Activists, and the Lower Federal Court Appointment Process. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Scherer, Nancy, Bartels, Brandon L., and Steigerwalt, Amy. 2008. “Sounding the Fire Alarm: The Role of Interest Groups in the Lower Federal Court Confirmation Process.” The Journal of Politics 70: 1026–39.Google Scholar
Scherer, Nancy, and Curry, Brett. 2010. “Does Descriptive Race Representation Enhance Institutional Legitimacy? The Case of the U.S. Courts.” The Journal of Politics 72: 90–104.Google Scholar
Segal, Jeffrey. 1987. “Senate Confirmation of Supreme Court Justices: Partisan and Institutional Politics.” The Journal of Politics 49: 998–1015.Google Scholar
Seib, Gerald F. 2013. “Open Judgeships Show D.C. Dysfunction.” The Wall Street Journal May 14, A4. Google Scholar
Shomade, Salmon A., and Hartley, Roger E.. 2010. “The Application of Network Analysis to the Study of Trial Courts.” Justice System Journal 31 (2): 144–63.Google Scholar
Smelcer, Susan Navarro, Steigerwalt, Amy, and Vining, Richard L. Jr. 2012. “Bias and the Bar: Evaluating the ABA Ratings of Federal Judicial Nominees.” Political Research Quarterly 65: 827–40.Google Scholar
Sollenberger, Mitchel A. 2010. “The Blue Slip: A Theory of Unified and Divided Government, 1979–2009.” Congress & the Presidency 37: 125–56.Google Scholar
Solowiej, Lisa A., Martinek, Wendy L., and Brunell, Thomas L.. 2005. “Partisan Politics: The Impact of Party in the Confirmation of Minority and Female Federal Court Nominees.” Party Politics 11: 557–77.Google Scholar
Songer, Donald R. 1979. “The Relevance of Policy Values for the Confirmation of Supreme Court Nominees” Law & Society Review 13: 927–48.Google Scholar
Steigerwalt, Amy. 2010. Battle over the Bench: Senators, Interest Groups, and Lower Court Confirmations. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.Google Scholar
Tobias, Carl. 2001. “The Bush Administration and Appeals Court Nominees.” William and Mary Bill of Rights Journal 10: 103–17.Google Scholar
Tobias, Carl. 2010. “Postpartisan Federal Judicial Selection.” Boston College Law Review 51: 769–95.Google Scholar
Wheeler, Russell. 2010. “Changing Backgrounds of U.S. District Judges: Likely Causes and Possible Implications.” Judicature 93:140–49.Google Scholar

APPENDIX: Lower Federal Court Confirmation Works during 1993–2012

Allison, Garland W. 1996. “Delay in the Senate Confirmation of Federal Court Nominees.” Judicature 80: 8–15.Google Scholar
Asmussen, Nicole. 2011. Female and Minority Judicial Nominees: President's Delight and Senators' Dismay? Legislative Studies Quarterly 36 (4): 591–619.Google Scholar
Basinger, Scott, and Mak, Maxwell. 2010. “The Changing Politics of Federal Judicial Nominations.” Congress & the Presidency 37: 157–75.Google Scholar
Bell, Lauren Cohen. 2002a. Warring Factions: Interest Groups, Money, and the New Politics of Senate Confirmation. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press.Google Scholar
Bell, Lauren Cohen. 2002b. “Senatorial Discourtesy: The Senate's Use of Delay to Shape the Federal Judiciary.” Political Research Quarterly 55: 589–607.Google Scholar
Binder, Sarah A. 2007. “Where Do Institutions Come From? Exploring the Origins of the Senate Blue Slip.” Studies in American Political Development 21: 1–15.Google Scholar
Binder, Sarah A., and Maltzman, Forrest. 2002. “Senatorial Delay in Confirming Judges, 1947–1998.” American Journal of Political Science 46: 190–99.Google Scholar
Binder, Sarah A., and Maltzman, Forrest. 2004. “The Limits of Senatorial Courtesy.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 29: 5–22.Google Scholar
Binder, Sarah A., and Maltzman, Forrest. 2005. “Congress and the Politics of Judicial Appointments.” In Congress Reconsidered, 8th edition, eds. Dodd, L. C. and Oppenheimer, B. I., 297–317. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Google Scholar
Binder, Sarah A., and Maltzman, Forrest. 2009. Advice and Dissent: The Struggle to Shape the Federal Judiciary. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Black, R. C, Madonna, A. J., and Owens, R. J.. 2011. “Obstructing Agenda-Setting: Examining Blue Slip Behavior in the Senate.” The Forum 9: 4.Google Scholar
Black, Ryan C., and Owens, Ryan J.. 2012. “The Collision of Institutional Power and Constitutional Obligations: The Senate's Use of Blue Slips in the Confirmation Process.” Social Science Quarterly. Under review. Google Scholar
Bond, Jon R., Fleisherb, Richard, and Krutz, Glen S.. 2009. “Malign Neglect: Evidence That Delay Has Become the Primary Method of Defeating Presidential Appointments.” Congress & the Presidency 36 (3): 226–43.Google Scholar
Caldeira, Gregory, Hojnacki, Marie, and Wright, John R.. 2000. “The Lobbying Activities of Organized Interests in Federal Judicial Nominations.” The Journal of Politics 62: 51–69.Google Scholar
Campisano, Charles. 2009. “The Confirmation Process and a Senatorial Norm: Historical Quantification and Analysis of the Senate Blue Slip Process.” Unpublished Senior Thesis, Ohio State University. Google Scholar
Cohen, Lauren M. 1998. “Missing in Action: Interest Groups and Federal Judicial Appointments.” Judicature 82: 119–23.Google Scholar
Corley, Pamela C. 2006. “Avoiding Advice and Consent: Recess Appointments and Presidential Power.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 36: 670–80.Google Scholar
Diascro, Jennifer Segal, and Solberg, Rorie Spill. 2009. “George W. Bush's Legacy on the Federal Bench: Policy in the Face of Diversity.” Judicature 92: 289–301.Google Scholar
Epstein, Lee, and Segal, Jeffrey A.. 2005. Advice and Consent: The Politics of Judicial Appointments. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Flemming, Roy B., MacLeod, Michael C., and Talbert, Jeffrey. 1998. “Witnesses at the Confirmations? The Appearance of Organized Interests at Senate Hearings of Federal Judicial Appointments, 1945–1992.” Political Research Quarterly 51: 617–31.Google Scholar
Giles, Michael W., Hettinger, Virginia A., and Peppers, Todd. 2001. “Picking Federal Judges: A Note on Policy and Partisan Selection Agendas.” Political Research Quarterly 54: 623–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon. 1991. “The Bush Imprint on the Judiciary: Carrying on a Tradition.” Judicature 74: 294–306.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon. 1993. “Bush's Judicial Legacy: The Final Imprint.” Judicature 76: 282–97.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon. 1995. “Judicial Selection under Clinton: A Midterm Examination.” Judicature 78: 276–91.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon. 1997. Picking Federal Judges: Lower Court Selection from Roosevelt through Reagan. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon. 1998. “The Judicial Confirmation Crisis and the Clinton Presidency.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 28: 838–44.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon. 1999. “Clinton's Second Term Judiciary: Picking Judges under Fire.” Judicature 82: 265–86.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon. 2003. “Assessing the Senate Judicial Confirmation Process: The Index of Obstruction and Delay.” Judicature 86: 251–57.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon, and Saronson, Matthew D.. 1994. “Clinton's Nontraditional Judges: Creating a More Representative Bench.” Judicature 78: 68–73.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon, and Slotnick, Elliot. 1997. “Clinton's First Term Judiciary: Many Bridges to Cross.” Judicature 80: 254–73.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon, Slotnick, Elliot, Gryski, Gerard, and Schiavoni, Sara. 2005. “W. Bush's Judiciary: The First Term Record.” Judicature 88: 244–75.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon, Slotnick, Elliot, Gryski, Gerard, and Schiavoni, Sara. 2007. “Picking Judges in a Time of Turmoil: W. Bush's Judiciary during the 109th Congress.” Judicature 90: 274–81.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon, Slotnick, Elliot, Gryski, Gerard, and Zuk, Gary. 2001. “Clinton's Judges: Summing up the Legacy.” Judicature 84: 228–54.Google Scholar
Goldman, Sheldon, Slotnick, Elliot, and Schiavoni, Sara. 2011. “Obama's Judiciary at Midterm: The Confirmation Drama Continues.” Judicature 94: 262–303.Google Scholar
Hartley, Roger E. 2001. “Senate Delay of Minority Judicial Nominees: A Look at Race, Gender, and Experience.” Judicature 84: 190–97.Google Scholar
Hartley, Roger E., and Holmes, Lisa M.. 1997. “Increasing Senate Scrutiny of Lower Federal Court Nominees.” Judicature 80: 274–78.Google Scholar
Hartley, Roger E., and Holmes, Lisa M.. 2002. “The Increasing Senate Scrutiny of Lower Federal Court Nominees.” Political Science Quarterly 117: 259–78.Google Scholar
Hendershot, Marcus. 2009. “Twisted Roots: Cointegrated Explanations of Transformation within the Federal Judicial Appointment Process.” CELS 2009 4th Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper . Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1358368 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1358368.Google Scholar
Hendershot, Marcus. 2009. “Twisted Roots: Cointegrated Explanations of Transformation within the Federal Judicial Appointment Process.” CELS 2009 4th Annual Conference on Empirical Legal Studies Paper . Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1358368 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1358368.Google Scholar
Hendershot, Marcus. 2010. “From Consent to Advice and Consent: Cyclical Constraints within the District Court Appointment Process.” Political Research Quarterly 63: 328–42.Google Scholar
Hollibaugh, Gary E. 2012. “Vacancies, Vetting, and Votes: A Unified Dynamic Model of the Appointments Process.” PhD diss., University of Rochester. Google Scholar
Holmes, Lisa M. 2007. “Presidential Strategy in the Judicial Appointment Process: Going Public in Support of Nominees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals.” American Politics Research 35: 567–94.Google Scholar
Holmes, Lisa M. 2007/2008. “Outsider Participation and Influence in Judicial Confirmation Hearings, 1979–2004.” The American Review of Politics 28: 205–27.Google Scholar
Holmes, Lisa M. 2008. “Why ‘Go Public?’ Presidential Use of Nominees to the U.S. Courts of Appeals.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 38: 110–22.Google Scholar
Holmes, Lisa M., and Savchak, Elisha. 2003. “Judicial Appointment Politics in the 107th Congress.” Judicature 86: 232–39.Google Scholar
Holmes, Lisa M., Shomade, Salmon A., and Hartley, Roger E.. 2012. “The Confirmation Obstacle Course: Signaling Opposition through Delay.” The American Review of Politics 33: 23–49.Google Scholar
Jacobi, Tonja. 2005. “The Senatorial Courtesy Game: Explaining the Norm of Informal Vetoes in Advice and Consent Nominations.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 30: 193–217.Google Scholar
Jo, Jinhee. 2012. “The Politics of Presidential Appointment: Three Essays.” PhD diss., University of Rochester. Google Scholar
Joiner, J. Perry. 2010. “Nomination Procrastination: The President and the Courts of Appeals.” Unpublished Senior Thesis, The University of Georgia. Google Scholar
Killian, Mitchell. 2008. “Presidential Decision Making and Minority Nominations to the U.S. Courts of Appeals.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 38: 268–83.Google Scholar
Krutz, Glen S., Fleisher, Richard, and Bond, Jon R.. 1998. “From Abe Fortas to Zoe Baird: Why Some Presidential Nominations Fail in the Senate.” The American Political Science Review 92: 871–81.Google Scholar
Maltzman, F. 2005. “Advice and Consent: Cooperation and Conflict in the Appointment of Federal Judges.” In The Legislative Branch, eds. Quirk, P. J. and Binder, S. A., 407–31. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Martinek, Wendy L., Kemper, Mark, and Van Winkle, Steven R.. 2002. “To Advise and Consent: The Senate and Lower Federal Court Nominations, 1977–2002.” The Journal of Politics 64: 337–61.Google Scholar
Massie, Tajuana D., Hansford, Thomas G., and Songer, Donald R.. 2004. “The Timing of Presidential Nominations to the Lower Federal Courts.” Political Research Quarterly 57: 145–54.Google Scholar
McCarty, Nolan, and Razaghian, Rose. 1999. “Advice and Consent: Senate Responses to Executive Branch Nominations, 1885–1996.” American Journal of Political Science 43: 1122–143.Google Scholar
Miller Center Commission. 1996. Report of the Commission on the Selection of Federal Judges. Charlottesville: The University of Virginia.Google Scholar
Nixon, David C., and Goss, David L.. 2001. “Confirmation Delay for Vacancies on the Circuit Courts of Appeals.” American Politics Research 29: 246–74.Google Scholar
Primo, David M., Binder, Sarah A., and Maltsman, Forrest. 2008. “Who Consents? Competing Pivots in Federal Judicial Selection.” American Journal of Political Science 52: 471–89.Google Scholar
Scherer, Nancy. 2003. “The Judicial Confirmation Process: Mobilizing Elites, Mobilizing Masses.” Judicature 86: 240–50.Google Scholar
Scherer, Nancy. 2005. Scoring Points: Politicians, Activists, and the Lower Federal Court Appointment Process. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Scherer, Nancy, Bartels, Brandon L., and Steigerwalt, Amy. 2008. “Sounding the Fire Alarm: The Role of Interest Groups in the Lower Federal Court Confirmation Process.” The Journal of Politics 70: 1026–39.Google Scholar
Schraufnagel, Scot. 2005. “Testing the Implications of Incivility in the United States Congress, 1977–2000: The Case of Judicial Confirmation Delay.” The Journal of Legislative Studies 11: 216–34.Google Scholar
Scott, Kevin M., and Garrett, R. Sam. 2011. “Assessing Changes in State Representation on the U.S. Courts of Appeals.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 41: 777–92.Google Scholar
Scott, Kevin M., and Martinek, Wendy L.. 2009. “Judicial Selection and Judicial Choice.” American Political Science Association 2009 Toronto Conference Meeting Paper. Google Scholar
Slotnick, Elliot E., and Goldman, Sheldon. 1998. “Congress and the Courts: A Case of Casting.” In Herbert F. Weisberg and Samuel C. Patterson (Eds.), Great Theatre: The American Congress in the 1990. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Smelcer, Susan Navarro, Steigerwalt, Amy, and Vining, Richard L. Jr. 2011. “Bias and the Bar: Evaluating the ABA Ratings of Federal Judicial Nominees.” Political Research Quarterly, published online December 1. Google Scholar
Smith, Charles E. Jr., Stuckey, Mary E., and Wright, John W. III. 1998. “Executive-Legislative Conflict and the Nomination-Confirmation Controversy in the Lower Federal Judiciary.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 28: 832–37.Google Scholar
Sollenberger, Mitchel A. 2010. “The Blue Slip: A Theory of Unified and Divided Government, 1979–2009.” Congress & the Presidency 37: 125–56.Google Scholar
Solowiej, Lisa A., Martinek, Wendy L., and Brunell, Thomas L.. 2005. “Partisan Politics: The Impact of Party in the Confirmation of Minority and Female Federal Court Nominees.” Party Politics 11: 557–77.Google Scholar
Spriggs, James F. II, and Wahlbeck, Paul J.. 1995. “Calling It Quits: Strategic Retirement on the Federal Courts of Appeals, 1893–1991.” Political Research Quarterly 48: 573–97.Google Scholar
Steigerwalt, Amy. 2010. Battle over the Bench: Senators, Interest Groups, and Lower Court Confirmations. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press.Google Scholar
Stratmann, Thomas, and Garner, Jared. 2004. “Judicial Selection: Politics, Biases, and Constituency Demands.” Public Choice 118: 251–70.Google Scholar
Williams, Sean Phillip. 2008. “The Power of Footdragging: Bargaining and Delay in the Federal Confirmations Process.” PhD diss., Ohio State University. Google Scholar