That’s the title of my new Confirmation Tales post, which examines the professional experience of Supreme Court appointees from 1900 up until Nixon’s presidency—that is, before the massive shift to federal appellate judges. As I spell out, the hodgepodge of appointees during those seven decades includes six United States senators, ten senior Department of Justice officials, five state supreme court justices, and three governors. These excerpts further highlight how things have changed:
In the 38 years between Van Devanter’s appointment and Sherman Minton’s, not a single one of the 24 justices was serving as a federal appellate judge when he was appointed….
No United States senator has been nominated to the Supreme Court in more than 75 years.
No United States attorney general has been nominated to the Court in more than 75 years.
Only one former state supreme court justice has been nominated to the Court since Brennan in 1956—David Souter, who had been on the New Hampshire supreme court before joining the First Circuit in 1990.
No former governor has been nominated to the Court in the past 70 years.
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