The Ultimate Job Interview

It’s been said that a Presidential election represents the pinnacle in evaluation for a job. After all, months of stumping, speeches and debates, TV and radio interviews culminate in a trip to the polls—and millions of Americans weigh in.

Grueling…and yet ultimately fair.

Not so with an opening on the Supreme Court.

The impending retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens will allow President Obama to nominate another justice. This most apolitical of bodies in theory (The Supreme Court) nevertheless becomes the victim of intense political posturing as the eventual nominee is announced.

Unlike politicians, who willingly subject themselves to this kind of abuse, those we look for in a Supreme Court Justice usually have a public persona that’s a bit more restrained.

I’m no constitutional scholar (bet THAT comes as a surprise), but I can see the dilemma that prospective nominees face. It’s a push-pull tap dance between the forces who sit on the Judiciary Committee who believe in one of two general ideologies:

1) The Constitution should be interpreted literally and applied strictly and…
2) The Constitution is a “living, breathing” document, whose application and interpretation is relative to the changing times we live in.

While I cannot speak to detailed Constitutional law, it seems that #2 is a bit more reasonable, if only because so much has changed since the Founding Fathers gathered in Philadelphia.

Back in 1776, many of the issues that we routinely face were not even capable of being wildly imagined by the likes of even Ben Franklin-a man certainly ahead of his time.

Despite the theme of “equality” that is the cornerstone of the Declaration of Independence and the bedrock of our Constitution, both documents were drafted in part by slave owners whose wives were not able to vote and were not considered full citizens.

Thankfully, we have amended the Constitution in the years since to right these wrongs.

Back in the days of the Founding Fathers, there was no mass communication-no radio, TV or internet. Medicine was not capable of prolonging a life—or taking the life of an unborn fetus without serious danger to the mother. Ethical questions about privacy, the right to free speech and the insertion of government in the medical decisions of private citizens were just not reality.

So, what’s a judge to do?
Each potential nominee will be vetted (a great word, no?, conjuring up images of a deer being eviscerated)—all judicial decisions will be studied, all speeches and written documents will be pored over. Every life event will be scrutinized.

And then the fun begins.

Those with a score to settle with the President will use this stage to batter and badger the nominee—in a forum where retaliatory responses never help. Regardless of the insulting accusations, the nominee will attempt to quietly respond. Conversely, Democrats on the Committee will fire marshmallow questions and pile on the accolades.

Here’s a video of Supreme Court Justices being interviewed by C-Span:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUfl9-cwJt4


When the nominating process begins, a truthful answer might never take the place of a useful one. A useful answer is one that calms the fears of those predisposed to vote against you without ever hearing your testimony. It’s one that remains hypothetical enough to allow for the gray areas that lawyers and judges specialize in. Since many of those in Congress (and I suspect most of the Judiciary Committee) are attorneys by training, the wordplay will be nothing if not interesting.

Not taking the bait is the one goal of the potential nominee. That-and surviving the withering questioning without appearing to be ruffled in any way.

The abortion question will be the defining litmus test for conservatives and liberals alike. Skirting this issue without making a “judgment” is key to making it through the process.

As I write this, I have no idea who the nominee will be. That the President will strive for diversity is a given, but beyond that, whomever it is---he or she will be in for the ride of their lives.

At the end, a lifetime appointment in a job of near unequalled stature and importance awaits. For the attorney turned judge, it is the Mount Everest of jobs….and, like a climb up that sheer face, it must be navigated carefully.


If you’d like my blog in your weekday box, just let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.com