Super Tuesdays: Professor Meghan Leonard on “The Role of the Courts”

Professor Meghan Leonard, from the Department of Politics and Government.

Professor Meghan Leonard, of the Department of Politics and Government, and Professor Michael Gizzi, of the Department Criminal Justice Sciences, presented “The Role of the Courts” October 18 at the “Super Tuesdays” forum.

Leonard said a presidential candidate Donald Trump’s potential nominees to the Supreme Court would be in line with his Republican presidential predecessors, as a presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s would be similar to the nominations of President Barack Obama.

While the president nominates justices to the Supreme Court, it is up to the Senate to confirm these nominees, Leonard said. The partisan control of the Senate is dependent on the outcome of the 2016 election. When the president and senate are controlled by the same party, the president is much more successful in having their Supreme Court nominees confirmed, she said. Leonard concluded that the future of all three branches of government are dependent on the election next month.

“Super Tuesdays” is a four-part series of presentations and discussions held on successive Tuesday evenings leading up to the 2016 presidential election. The evenings feature brief presentations by two faculty speakers and a moderated discussion between those speakers and community participants.