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Who chooses Supreme Court Justices?

With the recent death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, questions concerning the nomination of the next Supreme Court Justice have been a significant topic of discussion. According to Article Two of the United States Constitution, the responsibility of nominating a Supreme Court Justice falls on the president. The president typically receives recommendations for the next judge from various federal departments, Congress, and other sitting judges. The president nominates a judge who then faces a series of hearings in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee which votes whether to send the nomination to the Senate. The Senate then confirms or rejects the nominee by a simple majority vote. Interestingly, out of the 159 nominations, the Senate has only rejected 12 candidates. The first rejected nominee was John Rutledge in 1795, and the last rejected nominee was Robert H. Bork in 1987.

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