Experts in the News | Miller Center

RBG: Jimmy Carter’s “Notorious” Judicial Legacy

James Earl Carter will go down in history as one of four unlucky presidents (out of forty-four) who did not appoint a member of the U.S. Supreme Court. Two chief executives (William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor) died early in their terms, and Andrew Johnson faced impeachment and a recalcitrant Congress that blocked his nominations. Carter remains the only one-term president to serve without a vacancy occurring on the nation’s highest tribunal. Yet, indirectly, he is responsible for one of the Supreme Court’s most consequential members: Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Barbara Perry

Trump’s team plots his departure — even if he won’t

“The truth is if they decide to not cooperate, there is a way around it,” said Chris Lu, the former deputy Labor secretary under President Barack Obama. Lu served as executive director of the Obama-Biden transition team in 2008. “Democrats have only been out of power for three-and-half years and there are ways to adjust to it.”

Chris Lu

Congress

Vacancies, acting officials, and the waning role of the Senate

The Senate's role as a check on the president’s appointment power has diminished, raising important questions about our system of checks and balances.

The Brookings Institution

A more conservative US in the works?

President Donald Trump is expected to nominate an ideologically conservative successor to the late Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, Senior Fellow with the University of Virginia, discusses the implications.

Kathryn Dunn Tenpas

These 3 Issues Could Dominate Selection of Next US Supreme Court Justice

“If she is asked about Obamacare and Roe and all these things, she's just going to say, ‘I can't discuss cases that might come before me,’ ” said Saikrishna Prakash, a University of Virginia law professor who knows Barrett professionally.

Saikrishna Prakash

China's movie industry won't surpass US in 2020 after all: report

"We are seeing a redistribution in the market where a lot of smaller firms are failing because of the pandemic," said Aynne Kokas, author of "Hollywood Made in China" and a media studies professor at the University of Virginia. "Larger Chinese studios tend to be more conservative in their choices."

Aynne Kokas