H3

a) Three factors that influence Supreme Court nominations are political ideology, race and/or gender, and age.

b) Presidents almost always nominate justices who share their political beliefs so that their interests will be supported in the Supreme Court. In addition, Presidents often want a more diverse court in order to better represent the American people at large and so choose justices who come from a variety of backgrounds, and are different races and genders. Finally, Presidents want the justice they appoint to have influence for as long as possible and so sometimes appoint younger justices that will remain on the  Supreme Court long after the President has left office.

c) Justice Kagan fits all of these characteristics. She is left-leaning, which is in line with President Obama's political ideology. She is a woman, which gives her a different perspective from the usual old white men of the Supreme Court and she is the youngest member of the court which ensures her lasting influence.

a) Interest groups can attempt Supreme Court appointments through providing information to the American public and by lobbying members of Congress.

b) Providing information about Justice nominees to the public can convince constituents to either support or to not support a nominee. These constituents can then put pressure on their Congressmen to either confirm or deny that nominee. The representative will most likely follow the wishes of his constituents as he probably wishes to be reelected. Interest groups can also cut out the middle man by lobbying members of Congress directly. Interest groups often have considerable sway in government and they can put this power to use by offering incentives or convincing representatives to support their interests when voting on whether or not to confirm a Justice nominee.

c) Interest groups exerted their influence in the confirmation process for Kagan. NARAL Pro Choice America appealed to American citizens as they pushed a pro-women agenda in association with Kagan's appointment leading to the highest number of women ever to be on the Supreme Court. Conservative groups such as Americans United for Life are raising money to stop Kagan from being confirmed as they see her as a threat to their anti-abortion stand.