Challenging of Supreme Court

Archive Report

Controversy Over Nominees to Court

Fortas Rejection as Rebuff to Supreme Court

When the senate blocked the nomination of Abe Fortas as Chief Justice of the United States on Oct. 1, it applied a lesson of history that often tends to be forgotten: Under the checks-and-balances system of government, the Supreme Court does not function with complete independence. As interpreter of the Constitution, the Court often becomes the final reviewing authority of legislative and executive action. But it is dependent on the will of Congress in a number of ways. The Congress has power to limit the scope of the Court's jurisdiction, to increase or decrease the number of its members, and to determine their compensation. And no man appointed by the President may take his ...

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