Critical Judicial Nominations and Political Change: The Impact of Clarence Thomas

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Smith introduces a new concept, critical judicial nominations, to advance scholars' understanding of the consequences of the federal nomination process for the Supreme Court and the American political system. The study suggests that specific events related to the judicial branch, namely critical judicial nominations, have significant unanticipated consequences for the Supreme Court's role in the political system, as well as for electoral politics. This is demonstrated in illustrative historical examples which, most importantly, include an in-depth case study of the Clarence Thomas nomination and its subsequent ramifications.

Author Bio

CHRISTOPHER E. SMITH is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Akron in Ohio. He is the author of seven books on the judiciary including United States Magistrates in the Federal Courts (Praeger, 1990) and Justice Antonin Scalia and the Supreme Court's Conservative Moment (Praeger, forthcoming, 1994).