<P> In 1866, at the behest of Chief Justice Chase, Congress passed an act providing that the next three justices to retire would not be replaced, which would thin the bench to seven justices by attrition . Consequently, one seat was removed in 1866 and a second in 1867 . In 1869, however, the Circuit Judges Act returned the number of justices to nine, where it has since remained . </P> <P> President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to expand the Court in 1937 . His proposal envisioned appointment of one additional justice for each incumbent justice who reached the age of 70 years 6 months and refused retirement, up to a maximum bench of 15 justices . The proposal was ostensibly to ease the burden of the docket on elderly judges, but the actual purpose was widely understood as an effort to "pack" the Court with justices who would support Roosevelt's New Deal . The plan, usually called the "court - packing plan", failed in Congress . Nevertheless, the Court's balance began to shift within months when Justice van Devanter retired and was replaced by Senator Hugo Black . By the end of 1941, Roosevelt had appointed seven justices and elevated Harlan Fiske Stone to Chief Justice . </P> <P> The U.S. Constitution states that the President "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Judges of the Supreme Court ." Most presidents nominate candidates who broadly share their ideological views, although a justice's decisions may end up being contrary to a president's expectations . Because the Constitution sets no qualifications for service as a justice, a president may nominate anyone to serve, subject to Senate confirmation . </P> <P> In modern times, the confirmation process has attracted considerable attention from the press and advocacy groups, which lobby senators to confirm or to reject a nominee depending on whether their track record aligns with the group's views . The Senate Judiciary Committee conducts hearings and votes on whether the nomination should go to the full Senate with a positive, negative or neutral report . The committee's practice of personally interviewing nominees is relatively recent . The first nominee to appear before the committee was Harlan Fiske Stone in 1925, who sought to quell concerns about his links to Wall Street, and the modern practice of questioning began with John Marshall Harlan II in 1955 . Once the committee reports out the nomination, the full Senate considers it . Rejections are relatively uncommon; the Senate has explicitly rejected twelve Supreme Court nominees, most recently Robert Bork, nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 . </P>

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