Constitutiional Question Regarding President and United States Supreme Court

[Lincoln Republican]

Let us suppose the following situation exists:

Before entering elective politics, the President was a highly successful lawyer, who had graduated from Yale Law School, or from some other Ivy League law school, with a PhD in law. 

Let us also suppose that this President had served eight years as a justice on the supreme court of his state. 

He stepped down from the bench to seek his party's Presidential nomination, because he had some support from the party for running.

It is the last year of the second term of his Presidency and his party has a majority in the Senate.

Let us also suppose that the Chief Justice of the United States dies, we will say, four months before this President's second term is to end.

Question:

Could this President constitutionally nominate himself as the new Chief Justice of the United States?

Please discuss.

[Free Palestine]

I don't recall anything in the Constitution that prevents him from doing this.

[Хahar 🤔]

Yes. He could also do so if he had no qualifications for the position.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Yes. He could also do so if he had no qualifications for the position.

Supreme Court Justice doesn't have to be a lawyer at all, FTR.

[J. J.]

Yes. He could also do so if he had no qualifications for the position.

Supreme Court Justice doesn't have to be a lawyer at all, FTR.

You are correct on that point.  There is no  "learned in law" requirement, either.

I don't think Harvard Law grants a Ph D.  JD and Ll M possibly are the non honorary degrees.

[Guderian]

I don't think Harvard Law grants a Ph D.  JD and Ll M possibly are the non honorary degrees.

I don't know about Harvard Law in particular, but the highest academic achievement in the field of law in United States would be S.J.D. or Scientiae Juridicae Doctor. It's pretty much a research doctorate persued by an extremely limited number of people.

[John Dibble]

I don't know anything that would prevent him from doing so, but even if he could his nomination would never be taken.

[J. J.]

I don't think Harvard Law grants a Ph D.  JD and Ll M possibly are the non honorary degrees.

I don't know about Harvard Law in particular, but the highest academic achievement in the field of law in United States would be S.J.D. or Scientiae Juridicae Doctor. It's pretty much a research doctorate persued by an extremely limited number of people.

I checked, Harvard does offer it.

[Stranger in a strange land]

Nothing in the Constitution would prevent him from doing this, though I'm pretty sure he would have to relinquish the presidency.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Maybe if Teddy Roosevelt had convinced Taft that he was going to take him down, Taft appoints himself instead of Mahlon Pitney in 1912.

[hawkeye59]

Nothing in the Constitution would prevent him from doing this, though I'm pretty sure he would have to relinquish the presidency.

[Bo]

Maybe if Teddy Roosevelt had convinced Taft that he was going to take him down, Taft appoints himself instead of Mahlon Pitney in 1912.

I think that Taft did not anticipate Teddy running as an independent/3rd party (Bull-Moose) after Taft defeated him for the nomination. Of course, Taft didn't really like being President and might have felt that appointing himself to the Supreme Court might have violated the separation of powers of the three branches of govt., and thus decided not to do that.