π The Supreme Court takes up about 60 to 70 cases per year, but this number has decreased over time.
π The Rule of Four states that at least four justices must agree to hear a case.
π³οΈ Senators play a role in choosing and confirming Supreme Court justices.
π Four justices are required to support hearing a case before the Supreme Court.
ποΈ The court cannot hear all the appealed cases and only those with substantial constitutional questions are heard.
π Decisions of lower courts stand when the Supreme Court does not hear a case.
π When the Supreme Court consists of ideologically homogeneous justices, there is less uncertainty about their decisions.
πͺ Justices are more willing to grant cert to cases when they have colleagues who share their ideology.
π€ Some justices have been successful in persuading others to hear certain cases.
βοΈ Former football player Byron White was skilled at persuading fellow Supreme Court justices to take on more cases.
π Congress has made changes to the Supreme Court's jurisdiction over the years, including a law in 1988 that reduced the number of cases the Court is required to hear.
π³οΈ Senators consider ideology, qualifications, and party affiliation when voting on Supreme Court nominees.
π Presidents who are more popular have a higher likelihood of their justices being confirmed.
βοΈ A senator's party affiliation plays a significant role in their voting decision for confirming a justice.
π The ideological distance between a senator and a justice can influence the senator's support or opposition.
π Qualifications and ideological distance heavily influence senator's vote on nominee confirmation.
β Highly qualified nominees with close ideological alignment have a strong chance of being confirmed.
β Unqualified nominees with significant ideological differences have a very low chance of being confirmed.
π US senators consider party identification, ideology, and the qualifications of a nominee before confirming them for the Supreme Court.
π³οΈ Predicting how senators will vote on a nominee is often possible based on statistics.