Judicial Appointments and Filibusters

We open this story with this quote:

"At this rare moment in history, the rightwing of the Republican Party controls the House, the Senate, the White House, and is very close to controlling the Supreme Court," says Ralph Neas, president of the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way. "There are only three checks and balances [left] in the federal system: the filibuster, Sandra Day O'Connor, and Anthony Kennedy."

Regardless of Senate efforts, Bush could bypass a filibuster and just make appointments on his own simply because he has the authority to fill vacancies. Some say that this is necessary to avoid filibusters that would prevent judicial appointments from happening. But if Bush chose to do this, he bypasses the "advise and consent" role that the Senate tends to have. The Supreme Court is now being asked what to do in this situation and whether Bush's power should be limited. This issue is very important because it determines whether or not Bush will be allowed to just make recess-appointments at his discretion.

Bush responded to the Democrats' "obstructionist" tactics with recess appointments for Mr. Pryor which are now under review by the Supreme Court. Pryor was approved with 53 votes but the votes required for breaking the filibuster came up short. The issue now is when can a president make appointments like the one Bush made. The Constitution normally allows the president to make recess-appointments while Senate is not in session and during intersession and intrasession breaks. Courts have looked at cases like these before and in fact, the appointee has been given the right to remain on the court for up to two years. Recess appointments have been rarely used but with an administration so bent on having the upper hand, it is clear that the administration will utilize all loopholes. Bush could legally right now appoint someone to stand on a court for up to two years and nobody could do anything about it. Given the opportunity to avoid having to face a filibuster, I think that is the choice the Republican administration will make.