Former President Clinton meets the requirements to serve on the U.S.
Supreme Court. But so do Charles Manson, Britney Spears, and Saddam
Hussein. Astoundingly, there are no formal requirements for a U.S.
Supreme Court Justice. If the Senate confirms you, you're in for life.
"There are no requirements for becoming a federal justice."
IMA Hero Reading Program: The Supreme Court
http://www.imahero.com/readingprogram/ussupremecourt.html
"It is a matter that the Constitution saw fit really to entrust to the
good judgment and the discretion of the Senate with putting no
standards, no requirements. It is simply a judgment call, as to
whether this particular candidate is fit or appropriate to serve as a
justice for the remainder of his or her life, during good behavior in
the terms of the Constitution."
CNN: If Bush is Elected: Impact on the Supreme Court
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0008/02/bp.00.html
"Perhaps the dirtiest exam question that can be asked about the U.S.
Supreme Court is to demand a list of the personal qualities required
to be constitutionally eligible for appointment to it. The more
requirements the student lists, the more points are lost, for the
Constitution lists no requirements at all! There is no minimum age, no
citizenship, no educational requirement. It would be perfectly
constitutional to appoint the general secretary of the Communist Party
of the Soviet Union as chief justice."
Thinking About Politics: The Judicial System
http://www.adrian.edu/politicalscience/TAPBook/TAP8txt.html
"The Supreme Court is made up of nine Justices. One of these is the
Chief Justice. They are appointed by the President and must be
approved by the Senate. Once a person has been approved by the Senate
and sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice, s/he remains in the job for
life. The only way a Justice may leave the job is to resign, retire,
die, or be impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate. No
Justice has ever been removed by impeachment. There are no official
qualifications in order to become a Justice, although all have been
trained in the law and most pursued legal and political careers before
serving on the Court. Several justices served as members of Congress,
governors, or members of the Cabinet. One president, William Howard
Taft, was later appointed chief justice."
Ben's Guide to U.S. Government: The Supreme Court: Justices
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/6-8/government/national/justices.html
"There are no Constitutional requirements for age or other
qualifications for service as a Supreme Court Justice. Determining the
qualifications is left up to the President, who nominates, and members
of the Senate, who confirm."
U.S. Senator Don Nickles' Web Site: The Branches of Government
http://nickles.senate.gov/homeroom/studyhall/branch.htm
Google Web Search: "no requirements" + "supreme court justice"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22no+requirements%22+%22supreme+court+justice%22
Of course, Mr. Clinton might encounter some resistance because of
certain incidents in his background. Obstruction of justice and
perjury aren't traffic tickets. Technically, he could indeed become
the Chief Justice. But technically, pigs could fly to the moon if only
they had rocket boosters instead of legs. ;-)
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
Clarification of Answer by
pinkfreud-ga
on
04 Mar 2004 21:44 PST
You're correct: Clinton was not convicted of perjury and obstruction
of justice. But, if he were nominated to the Supreme Court, the
allegations alone would be likely to axe any chances that he would
have of being approved by the Senate.
Clinton struck a deal in which he agreed to accept a five-year
suspension of his Arkansas law license and to pay a fine of $25,000.
In return, formal charges were not brought against him:
"Less than 24 hours before George W Bush was due to be sworn in as the
43rd President of the United States, Mr Clinton acknowledged in a
statement that he had 'knowingly violated' a judge's order and given
false testimony. He said: 'I tried to walk a fine line between acting
lawfully and testifying falsely but I now recognise that I did not
fully accomplish that goal and that certain of my responses to
questions about Miss Lewinsky were false. hope my actions today will
help bring closure and finality to these matters.'
The deal involved Mr Clinton accepting a fine of $25,000 and a
five-year suspension from the bar in his home state of Arkansas, in
return for the end of proceedings that could have resulted in charges
of perjury or the obstruction of justice."
News Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/01/20/wus20.xml
I didn't mean to imply that Bill Clinton's legal and moral status is
similar to that of Charles Manson (or Britney Spears, or Saddam
Hussein). I picked extreme and diverse examples just for emphasis.
It is possible that Clinton could become Chief Justice. Although I
think this is unlikely, I wouldn't totally rule it out. At some time
in the future, there might be a Senate that would give the thumbs-up
to Bill Clinton as one of the "Supremes."
There have been many unexpected comebacks in the world of politics,
where strange bedfellows are often the rule rather than the exception.
~Pink
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