The Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation. The Court’s decisions can amend the Constitution, and the rulings of the nine justices on the court determine the constitutionality of the most controversial issues in the United States. In 2016, Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, passed away, leaving the Court with only eight justices.

According to the set precedent, the court must always contain nine justices. It is the job of the President of the United States (POTUS) to nominate new justices and the responsibility of Congress to check the nominee’s qualifications and decide if they are fit to hold the life-long position of a Supreme Court Justice.

“Having any ninth justice is better than not having a ninth justice,” history teacher Michelle Naylor said.

It has been a year, as of Feb. 13, since Scalia’s passing. Despite previous President Barack Obama’s nominations, the court has remained without a ninth justice to fill this vacancy. Newly inaugurated President Donald Trump has just recently announced a nominee of his own: Neil Gorsuch.

“I can say that this decision [whether or not to appoint Justice Gorsuch] is the most important decision Congress will make right now because it sets the tone for the next four years of Trump’s presidency,” lobbyist Alton Ashy said.

According to CNN, conservatives are extremely pleased with Trump’s pick. Those who support Gorsuch’s nomination say his experience in lower appellate courts and impressive educational background merit him the position. They also argue that his conservative ideologies perfectly replace those of Scalia.

“I think [President Obama] made some pretty historic appointments. [Sotomayor and Kagan] were appropriate; they seemed to replace the justices who are similarly inclined politically. Keeping the balance is important. Trump has done this,” political science teacher David Herring said. “But watch out for if and when he appoints a conservative [justice] to replace a liberal.”

Gorsuch’s political ideology is not the only thing that concerns some Americans. Other concerns include his age, his experience, and his considerable lack of experience in comparison to the older justices.

“My concern with him [Gorsuch] is that he is 49 years old … I can’t see someone 15 years older than me having the breadth of experience that an older justice will have,” Naylor said.

While many disagree on if Gorsuch is a good fit for the new justice, it is believed that he will, in the end, be confirmed. Not only do conservatives hold the majority in both the House and the Senate, but members from both parties agree that a new justice is needed, and as quickly as possible.

“I would hope that [congressmen] take a mature route and that they do work towards confirming [Gorsuch] so that we can get on with the cases that are lined up… I think it would be almost immature at this point to keep blocking the other party just because you don’t want them to have success,” Gagne said.

“If the Republicans hadn’t stopped even the hearing of Obama’s justices, maybe things would’ve gone more smoothly, but I just don’t think that politics is a game of compromise right now,” Naylor said.

While the Supreme Court only holds eight members, the process is changed completely. If the justices have a majority vote on a case, than the decision will be made per-usual. However, since there are only eight justices it is possible that the votes would tie. In the event of a tie, the decision of the previous appellate court will be upheld and set as the ruling on the case.

“I think that having only eight justices on the court is completely stupid. Having a ninth justice is a good thing; it’s a good thing for American democracy,” Naylor said.

One rumor that has been surrounding Gorsuch’s nomination is that if Gorsuch does not obtain the 60 votes he needs to pass through the senate, then the Republicans will implement a nuclear majority. A nuclear majority is when, instead of needing the required 60 votes, Gorsuch will only need a slim majority of the votes to be appointed. Seeing as there are 52
conservatives currently sitting in the senate, he would be confirmed. However, there are Republicans who say they will not support the nomination were the nuclear majority to occur.

“It’s a little bit worrisome because you don’t want just 50 percent of people making decisions. There are big decisions that you would want more than just half of the populous to agree with,” Naylor said.

Whether Gorsuch gets appointed or not, a new court justice is needed. If he is not appointed, it will be up to President Trump to continue nominating potential justices until the position is filled. Hopefully, for the sake of the nation, a new justice will be appointed as quickly as possible.