Legittimità e indipendenza della Corte Suprema statunitense nella procedura di nomina dei suoi giudici

The appointment of a Supreme Court Justice is an event of major significance in American Politics. The “Appointments Clause” (Article II, Section 2, clause 2) states that the President “shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint ... Judges of the supreme Court.” Over the course of more than two centuries, the Supreme Court appointment process has undergone important changes, while remaining constant in other key respects. Actually, the process of appointing Justices has undergone changes over two centuries. For examples, although not mentioned in the Constitution, an important role is played midway in the process (after the President selects, but before the Senate considers) by the Senate Judiciary Committee; in another major change from earlier practice, there are now many more participants in the Supreme Court appointment process. The more exacting standard usually applied to Supreme Court nominations reflects the special importance of the Court, coequal to and independent of the Presidency and Congress