Info. On Unsuccessful Nominations To The Supreme Court of the US:
Justices are nominated by the president and then confirmed by the U.S. Senate. A nomination to the Court is considered to be official when the Senate receives a signed nomination letter from the president naming the nominee, which is then entered in the Senate's record.
>There have been 37 unsuccessful nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States. Of these, 11 nominees were rejected in Senate roll-call votes, 11 were withdrawn by the president, and 15 lapsed at the end of a session of Congress. Six of these unsuccessful nominees were subsequently nominated and confirmed to other seats on the Court. Additionally, although confirmed, seven nominees either declined office or (in one instance) died before assuming office.
- Post WWII Modern Period, 1950s to present:
Dwight D. EISENHOWER, Main article: Dwight D. Eisenhower Supreme Court candidates
President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated John Marshall Harlan II in 1954, but his nomination was not reported out of the judiciary committee, in part due to opposition to his purported "ultra-liberal" views. Eisenhower re-nominated Harlan in 1955, and the Senate confirmed him in a 71–11 vote.
Lyndon B. JOHNSON, Main article: Lyndon B. Johnson Supreme Court candidates
Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Abe Fortas, then an associate justice, for Chief Justice. Fortas would have succeeded Earl Warren, who had decided to retire. Controversy ensued regarding Fortas's extrajudicial activities, and at Fortas's request, Johnson withdrew the nomination prior to a vote of the full Senate. Fortas's nomination was also opposed by many senators who opposed the rulings of the Warren Court. President Nixon instead filled the vacancy caused by Warren's retirement with Warren Burger.
When Johnson nominated Fortas, he also nominated Homer Thornberry to fill Fortas' seat. Since Fortas withdrew his name from the Chief Justice nomination, but maintained his seat as an Associate Justice (with Earl Warren continuing as Chief Justice), the nomination of Thornberry was void. He was never voted on by the Senate.
Richard NIXON, Main article: Richard Nixon Supreme Court candidates
When Abe Fortas resigned in 1969 because of a scandal separate from his Chief Justice bid, Richard Nixon nominated Clement Haynsworth, a Southern jurist. His nomination was rejected by the Senate by a vote of 45–55 on November 21, 1969, due to concerns about Haynsworth's civil rights record and perceived ethical lapses. In response, Nixon nominated G. Harrold Carswell, a Southerner with a history of supporting segregation and opposing women's rights. The Senate rejected his nomination 45 to 51 on April 8, 1970, following much pressure from the Civil Rights and Feminist movements. Nixon's third nominee for the Fortas vacancy was Harry Blackmun, who was confirmed by the Senate with no opposition on May 17, 1970.
Nixon was soon faced with two more Supreme Court vacancies when John Harlan and Hugo Black retired in the fall of 1971. Nixon considered nominating Arkansas lawyer Hershel Friday and California intermediate appellate judge Mildred Lillie to the high court. By tradition at the time, potential Supreme Court nominees were first disclosed to the American Bar Association's standing committee on the federal judiciary. When it became apparent that this 12-member committee would find that both were unqualified, Nixon passed over Friday and Lillie, and nominated Lewis Powell and William Rehnquist. Powell was confirmed by an 89–1 vote, and Rehnquist was confirmed 68–22.
Ronald REAGAN, Main article: Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination
When Lewis Powell retired in July 1987, Ronald Reagan nominated Robert Bork. Bork was a member of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia at the time and known as a proponent of constitutional originalism. Bork lost confirmation by a Senate vote of 42 to 58, largely due to Bork's extreme conservative opinions on constitutional issues and his role in the Nixon Saturday Night Massacre.
Reagan then announced his intention to nominate Douglas H. Ginsburg to the court. Before Ginsburg could be officially nominated, he withdrew himself from consideration under heavy pressure after revealing that he had smoked marijuana with his students while a professor at Harvard Law School.[46] Reagan then nominated Anthony Kennedy, who was confirmed by a Senate vote of 97–0.
George W. BUSH, Main article: Harriet Miers Supreme Court nomination
In October 2005, George W. Bush nominated Harriet Miers, a corporate attorney from Texas who had served as Bush's private attorney and as White House Counsel, as an Associate Justice to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Miers was widely perceived as unqualified for the position, and it later emerged that she had allowed her law license to lapse for a time.
The nomination was immediately attacked by politicians and commentators from across the political spectrum. At Miers's request, Bush withdrew the nomination on October 27, ostensibly to avoid violating executive privilege by disclosing details of her work at the White House. Four days later, Bush nominated Samuel Alito to the seat. Alito was confirmed by a vote of 58–42 on January 31, 2006.
Barack OBAMA, Main article: Merrick Garland Supreme Court nomination
In February 2016, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia died. The following month, President Barack Obama nominated D.C. Circuit Judge Merrick Garland to replace Scalia. However, the Senate was controlled by the Republican Party, which argued that the next president should instead appoint Scalia's successor. Senate Republicans refused to hold hearings on Garland, and Garland's nomination remained before the Senate longer than any other Supreme Court nomination. Garland's nomination expired with the end of the 114th United States Congress.
The vacancy caused by Scalia's death remained unfilled for 422 days, making it just the second Supreme Court vacancy since the end of the Civil War to remain unfilled for more than one year. On January 31, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch to replace Justice Scalia. Justice Gorsuch was sworn in on April 10, 2017, after being confirmed by a vote of 54–45.
Full List of unsuccessful nominations, Read More...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsuccessful_nominations_to_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States
