The Confirmation of a New Supreme Court Justice!

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by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author

The highest court in the United States is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is currently made up of nine Justices (which is like another word for “judges”), whose job is to hear cases in which, generally, one or more laws need to be interpreted. After the Supreme Court has made a ruling, there is no other court to which the issue can be taken – the Supreme Court’s ruling is final and all other courts in the U.S. must then follow the decision made by the Supreme Court!

A unique and important thing about Supreme Court Justices is that once a Justice is appointed to the Supreme Court, that person serves on the Court for as long as he or she would like until announcing retirement. When a Supreme Court Justice retires and an open seat becomes available, the new Justice is nominated by the President and then confirmed by vote in the United States Senate.

Because the Supreme Court makes such definitive and influential rulings, a President’s opportunity to name a new Justice is considered a big opportunity that can have great impact for the United States, even after that President has left office! Likewise, the Senate takes their consideration of the nominee very seriously, interviewing that candidate at length before placing their vote!

In the early summer of 2010, when Justice John Paul Stevens announced that he would retire, President Obama nominated Elena Kagan to take his place. And, on August 5th, the Senate voted 63-37 to confirm her as the 112th Supreme Court Justice of the United States!

Ms. Kagan will historically become the 4th woman to ever serve as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice! She is scheduled to be sworn-in on Saturday and will begin to hear cases when the Court begins its new term in October. Because she is only 50 years old, Ms. Kagan is expected to be an influential new Justice, since she will probably serve on the Court for many years to come!