alternatehistory.com

OOC: This thread combines alternate Presidents (if you so wish) with the Supreme Court, allowing users to explain their universe's Supreme Court Justices, who they were nominated by, their stance (left, center-left, moderate, center-right, right) and the confirmation process they went through. I'll start it off.

Chief Justice Miguel Estrada (center-right - right): Chief Justice Miguel Estrada was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2005 following the death of Chief Justice William Reinquist. He previously served on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia from 2001-2005. He was the subject of an unprecedented filibuster by Senate Democrats until Bush brokered a deal to nominate a more liberal judge to the next vacant seat, which he did with Judge David Gregory (a Bill Clinton recess appointment). His confirmation for Chief Justice were all the more contentious, despite the fact that he was rated unanimously well qualified by the ABA. He was ultimately confirmed 68-31.

Associate Justice Edith Jones (right): Justice Edith Jones was nominated by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 following William Brennan's retirement. Her confirmation process was not so heavily scrutinized by many, but there were a select few Democrats who painted her in the radically conservative mold of Robert Bork. She was ultimately confirmed by a 93-7 vote, with Senators such as John Kerry and Ted Kennedy voting no.

Associate Justice Kenneth Starr (moderate - center-left): Justice Kenneth Starr was nominated by President George H.W. Bush in 1993 shortly after Bush's second term victory following Byron White's retirement. His nomination was controversial because many Senate Republicans did not think that he was going to be a conservative judge. He was grilled by both Senate Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judicary Committee. After meeting with the Senate Majority Leaders from both parties, Bush was able to convince them of Starr's moderate track record on the D.C. Court of Appeals. Starr was confirmed unanimously by the Senate, and has since mostly sided with the Court's liberal wing (ironically confirming Republican suspicions at the time), but will occasionally side with its conservative wing as well.

Associate Justice Emilio Garza (right): Justice Emilio Garza was nominated by George H.W. Bush in 1993 following the death of Thurgood Marshall. Originally, Clarence Thomas was nominated by the President, but the Senate struck down his nomination after reports of sexual harassment from a woman named Anita Hill surfaced during his time as Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Garza's nomination was less contentious, but was still opposed by many Senate Democrats. Garza was confirmed by a vote of 66-34, becoming the Court's first Latino-American Justice.

Associate Justice Amalya Kearse (center-left): Justice Amalya Kearse was nominated by George H.W. Bush in 1994 following Henry Blackmun's retirement. As the Democrats had control of the Senate, before the nomination was announced, they stated their opposition to another hardline conservative in the mold of Emilio Garza, Edith Jones, or Antonin Scalia. Seeing this, Bush agreed to appoint and moderate, leaning-left judge: Amalya Kearse. She was praised by both liberals and conservatives for being an extremely middle-of-the-road judge, authoring opinions that pleased both sides of the aisles. Kearse was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, and became the second African American Justice, as well as the first woman of color.

Associate Justice Jacqueline Nguyen (left): Justice Jacqueline Nguyen was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2012 following the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. She was opposed by the Senate Tea Party Republicans, led by Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Jeff Sessions. They painted her as a liberal left crusader who would undermine the Constitution. However, since she was replacing a fairly moderate to left leaning justice, many Republicans did not see it changing the tilt of the court. She was nominated fairly swiftly with a vote of 72-28, becoming the second Vietnamese-American Justice, alongside Justice Viet Dinh.

Associate Justice Johnnie Rawlinson (left): Justice Johnnie Rawlinson was nominated by Barack Obama in 2010 following the retirement of John Paul Stevens. Unlike the nomination of Jacqueline Nguyen two years later, Rawlinson's nomination was highly contentious. Many Republican Senators noted her unabashedly liberal opinion during her time on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. As a result, her hearing became a circus, noted for Republicans and Democrats arguing back and forth with each other rather than questioning Rawlinson herself. She was confirmed by a narrow margin of 57-43. All Republicans in attendance voted no, while three Democrats voted no as well. She became the second African American woman on the bench.

Associate Justice Viet Dinh (right): Justice Viet Dinh was nominated by George W. Bush in 2005 following the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Dinh served on Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia since 2002. His hearings were controversial due to him being the architect of the Patriot Act during his time in the White House before his D.C. Circuit nomination. Many Democrats, on those grounds, opposed Dinh's nomination, despite many of them conceding him to be a highly qualified jurist whose nomination would be historic, as he would be the first Asian-American of any ethnicity (Dinh was Vietnamese) to be nominated to the Supreme Court. They also opposed Dinh on the grounds of his young age (Dinh was 37 at the time, the second youngest Supreme Court nominee ever). Republicans countered by saying that many of them supported the Patriot Act when it was first passed, and derided them for saying that Dinh was qualified (they pointed to the ABA's rating of Dinh as Unanimously Well Qualified) while saying that they couldn't support his nomination. Dinh's nomination was notable for the rise of future President Barack Obama to the national stage, as his Senate floor speech on his opposition to Dinh's nomination went viral. Nevertheless, Dinh was confirmed 57-43.

Associate Justice Raymond Kethledge (right): Justice Raymond Kethledge was nominated by President Mitt Romney in 2016 following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Democrats vehemently opposed the confirmation of Raymond Kethledge, as his conservative leanings made him, in their view, a dangerous choice to undermine women's rights, civil rights, and voting rights. As Republicans had 55 seats in the Senate, they were unable to get a cloture vote on their own, as they were just one vote shy (Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Manchin, Jon Tester, and Joe Donnelly all voted for cloture). Romney met with both Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, Senators from Kethledge's home state of Michigan. While Peters was steadfast in his opposition, Stabenow was reminded by Romney how she submitted her blue slip for Kethledge back in 2008, and was confirmed unanimously. As a result, she submitted her blue slip and cloture was given with exactly 60 votes, as Romney wanted to avoid the use of the nuclear option. Kethledge was confirmed by a vote of 59-41. Stabenow was the only Senator who voted for cloture to vote no.
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