Who did President Clinton appoint to the Supreme Court?

Answer 1

President Clinton nominated two Justices to the Supreme Court:

1. Ruth Bader Ginsberg in 1993; and
   
   
2. Stephen Breyer in 1994.

Associate Justice Byron White, who had been nominated to the High Court by John Kennedy in 1962, announced his retirement in March 1993, concluding 31 years service on the bench.

Clinton was concerned that the Court had become too politicized, and that the conservative perspective was over-represented. He wanted to replace White with someone who would help balance the opinions of the Court.

Clinton's first choice was Mario Cuomo, then Governor of New York, who had indicated interest in the position. When Cuomo declined the nomination, Clinton approached several other active Democrats who also demurred.

The President then interviewed both Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg for the position, but Breyer, having injured himself a few days before the interview, didn't make a positive impression. The President ultimately chose Ginsburg, a DC Circuit judge, feminist activist, and only the second woman ever nominated to the Supreme Court. She was confirmed by a Senate vote of 96-3 on August 3, 1993.

In March of the following year, Associate Justice Harry Blackmun, appointed to the bench in 1970 by President Nixon, also announced his retirement. Clinton wanted to nominate Eighth Circuit judge Richard S. Arnold, who was highly recommended by his peers (more than 100 federal judges signed a letter in support of Arnold's nomination), but who had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1976. Arnold's doctor reported the cancer had metastasized throughout his body, and refused to guarantee him fit for service.

Clinton finally nominated Stephen Breyer, a First Circuit judge and former Harvard Law professor, on May 13, 1994. Breyer was confirmed by a Senate vote of 87-9 in July 1994.

Answer 2

Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer

Answer 3

Two Supreme Court Justices were appointed during the Clinton Administration. They are Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993 and Stephen Breyer in 1994.