Advice and Consent: The Politics of Judicial Appointments

Albeit very topical and relevant to the meat of the cold war I found the structure and order of presentation a great help in getting through this longish and often boring novel. It touched on many elements of the Senates' procedural business and that was good but the conflict seemed too much of a soap opera to carry the weight that is the serious business of the legislative branch of the United States. Further, the "tipping point" of the conflict (homosexuality) may have been "shocking" enough for the era but I had a hard time as a heterosexual being drawn in.

Put in a product review for the wrong item, have NOT received this item yet, but see that it is on it's way. Have read the book before and loved it, the entire series was phenomenal!

Politics, politics and more politics. This was a required reading for a college level class. A decent read even though I was already reading my brains out.

"This is a superb and even indispensable resource. Careful, precise, objective, and nugget-filled, it's a wonderful guide to past, present, and future debates. If you want to know about judicial appointments, this is the best place to start." -- Cass R. Sunstein, University of Chicago Law School"An important and timely study that adds an essential framework for understanding contemporary slugfests over judicial appointments. Beautifully presented and argued." -- Louis Fisher, author of American Constitutional Law"Lee Epstein's and Jeffrey Segal's new book could not be more timely. It provides the most comprehensive and systematic examination to date of the roles of politics and ideology in Supreme Court selection. It is indispensable reading for anyone interested in how justices and judges decide cases, the limits of legal reasoning, and the contributions of social science to better understanding how the Supreme Court functions." - Michael J. Gerhardt, author of The Federal Impeachment Process"Writing in pristine, jargon-free language, Epstein and Segal...inject some much-needed context and evidence into the current debate about judicial appointments." -- The American Prospect"Epstein and Segal...draw together a wealth of research and empirical findings from a plethora of studies, many of which they authored, and fold them into a compelling narrative that examines all levels of the judiciary.... This book combines the best features of past studies on judicial appointments. It is also very accessible for students and citizens interested in the judicial branch." -- Law and Politics Book Review"Thoughtful and illuminating.... Qualifications matter-as much today as they have in the past. (In that sense, President Bush might have done well to read Advice and Consent before nominating the ill-fated Miers.)? -- Chronicle of Higher Education"A thorough look at the process, politics and presidential aspects of court appointments. Witty yet well-informed, Professors Epstein and Segal give an insight into the whys and wherefores of federal judge appointments." -- [...]

Epstein and Segal have produced an easy to read primer on the judicial appointment process. The authors show the intertwining influences of the President and Senate and their role in the ideology and politics of the justices and (to a lesser extent) judges approved to sit on U.S. federal courts.Common sense dictates that Presidents nominate nominees who are close ideologically to their own views. Epstein and Segal show this to be true. Common sense would also dictate the difficulty if such considerations are taken into account as a president nominating a judge to the state where senators of his own party hold seats (and senatorial courtesy plays a stronger role), if the senate and president are of differing parties, and so forth.Epstein and Segal have produced a primer for those interested in motivations in nominations to the court and the inherently political considerations that must be taken into account. I highly recommend this book.