--- toma19@charter.net Judge Tom Alisankus)wrote:
>
>
> President Bush now has his first opportunity to
> replace a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, with the
> recent announcement that Justice Sandra Day O'Conner
> will retire from the Court. With all of the
> political posturing by both Republicans and
> Democrats, I thought it would be useful to offer a
> brief overview of the constitutional provisions that
> dictate how the selection process is supposed to
> work.
> The basis of our governmental structure is the
> concept of checks and balances, with three co-equal
> branches of government: The Legislative branch,
> which is Congress-- made up of the U.S. Senate and
> U.S. House of representatives--represents the will
> of the people in writing and passing laws. The
> Executive branch, headed by the President, carrys
> out or administers/enforces the laws passed by
> Congress. The Judicial branch is comprised of the
> U.S. Supreme Court; the role of the Court is to
> interpret the laws, to assure that no law passed by
> Congress violates the U.S. Constitution--which, of
> course, is the 'supreme law of the land'. In other
> words, nothing trumps the U.S. Constitution.
> (continued..)
>