First we need to understand the Federal Judiciary.

The framers viewed the federa l judiciary as an important check against both Congress and the president.(376) To protect the judiciary from shifts in public opinion, the framers rejected dir ect election. It was the method used to select many judges in the colonies, and it is still used today to choose some state and local judges.(376) To protect th e judiciary from Congress as a whole, no limits were allowed on judicial terms. Federal judges serve during good behavior, which typically means for life. The C onstitution sets absoluetly no requirements for serving on the Supreme Court, no r did the first Congress create any requirements for the lower courts.(381) Beca use judges were to be appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the senate, the framers assumed that judges would be experienced in the law. As much as the Framers belived that the judiciary should be independent, the appoin tment process gives presidents and the senate ample opportunity for influencing the direction of the courts. Presidents also routinely rely on the senators in a given state to make reccomendations especially for district court appointments. Because judges serve for life, presidents see judicial appointments as an oppor tunity to shape the courts for decades to come.(381) The process through wich th e president consults with members of Congress is complex and may differ from app ointment to appointment, but one particular important norm is senatorial courtes y, the custom of submitting the names of prospective judges for approval to the senators from the states in which the appointees are to work.(382) Presidents ar e also advised by their own White House staffs and the Justice Department in com piling a list of potential nominees.(382) Presidents so seldom nominate judges f rom the opposing party that partisan considerations are taken for granted. Thus judges picked by Republican presidents tend to be judicial conservatives, and ju dges picked by Democratic presidents are more likely to be liberals.(385) A cand idates judicial philosophy also influences the selection process. Presidents and senators also want to know how candidates see the appropriate role of the court s. Given the importance of cases that reach the U.S. Supreme court, the complexi ty of the Court's decision making process is not surprising. Interest groups may influence a justice's view of the case or the implications of a particular outc ome.(391) The chief justice can also affect decision making by the way he frames a case at the conference as well as by his choice of the justice to write the o pinion based on the conference vote.(391) The Supreme court does indeed read the election returns, and its members can reflect the results of those elections.(L ecture) Partisan politics and public opinion do not necessarily dominate Court a ctions. Memebers of the Court do not hesitate to make unpopular rulings if prece ndent and principle are clear.(Lecture)