The waters of the confirmation process are troubled these days. Standards upheld under a Democratic president, we are told, are being rejected under a Republican president. Principles that governed this process for decades, even centuries, are supposedly being tossed aside. Many are asking where the process goes from here.

One part of the process that has been misrepresented, misunderstood, and misdirected involves the role of senators regarding judicial nominees who would serve in their state. Since 1917, Judiciary Committee chairmen have sought the views of those home-state senators and, almost without exception, they have been given weight but have not dictated whether the Judiciary Committee holds a hearing. This is called the “blue slip” courtesy, because senators express their views on a blue slip of paper.