3.5 Court Stuff

"Hilary Clinton will likely have a unique chance to remake the federal judiciary"

1. Describe the way most judicial branch nominations went down in Obama's first term.

He filled judicial vacancies with Democratic Party appointees, but the vetting process was very slow and nitpicky. 

2. How did Senate Democrats change the rules for nominations in Obama's second term?

Harry Reid and Senate Democrats deployed "nuclear option" which means using a majority vote to change the rules such as to prevent filibustering of judicial nominees to ease spurts of confirmation. 

3. How did Senate Republicans respond when they gained control of the Senate in 2014?

They shut down confirmations altogether in response to nuclear call. 

4. How many vacancies are there in the District Court level?

Vacancies have doubled to 72 since the 2014 midterms. 

5. How will the Senate Republicans' gamble pay off significantly now that Trump is the president?

The Republicans now have a chance to fill the vacancies with those who are more likely to further the Republican agenda. 

"An emergency court hearing has been called to challenge Trump's executive order"

6. When is the hearing on Trump's travel ban Executive Order?

7:30 pm this Saturday, 2/4/17

7. What type of court would this be since it's the first time hearing the case?

A district court. 

8. Who are the plaintiffs?

Hameed Khalid Darweesh and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi who had worked with the US military in Iraq. 

9. How is the lawsuit going to try to turn this into a "class action"? (You definitely remember what a class action lawsuit is, right?)

If these two men win the court's decision that the executive order/ban is unlawful, then the same protections can be expanded to other immigrants and refugees detained in airports around the country.