Issue: Federal Courts
Jugdes on the federal courts decide important issues that impact our daily lives. Article III of the U.S. Constitution establishes the U.S. Supreme Court and provides that Congress may create additional lower courts. Congress has done so and there are more than 850 U.S. Circuit and District Court judgeships. These courts are known as Article III courts, and the judges who serve on these courts do so “during good behavior” which means for the rest of their lives should they wish.
To fill these judgeships, Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution provides that “the President shall nominate, and by and with the advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint… Judges of the supreme Court,” and lower courts. This constitutional requirement demands that the President work with Senators to identify and potentially consider the confirmation of individuals selected to serve as a federal judge.