Supreme Court Justice Qualifications: What Matters

With a Supreme Court vacancy pending and Joe Biden having painted himself into a corner by promising to nominate an African-American woman, we are back again to the arguments about racial preferences and job qualifications. Before we get into the meat of the arguments over what Biden promised and why it is a problem, it’s worth starting with the fundamental question of what it means to be qualified to serve on the United States Supreme Court in the first place.

There is, of course, no consensus on this question, which is one reason you get people accusing others of racism, sexism, and political hackery simply for applying a different standard. We really should ask three questions about a potential justice:

About the Author

Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at National Review Institute.

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With a Supreme Court vacancy pending and Joe Biden having painted himself into a corner by promising to nominate an African-American woman, we are back again to the arguments about racial preferences and job qualifications. Before we get into the meat of the arguments over what Biden promised and why it is a problem, it’s worth starting with the fundamental question of what it means to be qualified to serve on the United States Supreme Court in the first place.

There is, of course, no consensus on this question, which is one reason you get people accusing others of racism, sexism, and political hackery simply for applying a different standard. We really should ask three questions about a potential justice: