Supreme Court of the United States (1994-2005)
From dKosopedia
Category: Supreme Court of the United States
From August 3, 1994 to XXXX XX, 2005 the Supreme Court Since there were no vacancies or retirements, the longest ever such period.
Since August 3, 1994, the members of the court were Nixon appointee (and now Chief Justice) William Rehnquist; Ford appointee John Paul Stevens; Reagan appointees Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, and Anthony Kennedy; Bush (I) appointees David Souter and Clarence Thomas; and Clinton appointees Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.
top row l-r: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Steven Breyer
bottom row l-r: Antonin Scalia,, John Paul Stevens, William Rhenquist, Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy
Overview and Analysis
There were three main voting blocs on the Court. The liberals, consisting of Ginsburg, Stevens, Souter, and Breyer; the center-right bloc (O'Connor and Kennedy); and the Conservative bloc (Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas).
The Conservatives and the center-right bloc often form a 5 vote majority to defeat the liberals. O'Connor was often the decisive vote, defecting to the liberals or staying with the conservatives. However in the cases such as Kyllo v. United States, 533 U.S. 27 (2001) (per Scalia, J.; dissent by Stevens, J.) the blocs were scrambled. The majority consisted of Scalia, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg, and Breyer; the dissenters were Rehnquist, Stevens, O'Connor, and Kennedy.
The Court Changes
The makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court was hanging in the balance as Rehnquist is in failing health, yet it was with the retirement of O'Connor that actualy changed its make-up.
After much specualtion on potential nominees to the Supreme Court of the United States on July 19, 2005, Bush nominated John G. Roberts Jr. a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court to replace outgoing Associate Justice O'Connor.
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