The Supremes (24 Mar. 2004)

A Supreme Court Justice dies, forcing the administration's hand on picking a desirable replacement who can be confirmed by a hostile Congress.

Director:

Jessica Yu

Writers:

Aaron Sorkin (creator), Debora Cahn,

Stars:

Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Janel Moloney

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Dulé Hill	...	Charlie Young
Allison Janney	...	C.J. Cregg
Janel Moloney	...	Donna Moss
Richard Schiff	...	Toby Ziegler
John Spencer	...	Leo McGarry
Bradley Whitford	...	Josh Lyman
Martin Sheen	...	President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet
Glenn Close	...	Chief Justice Evelyn Baker Lang
Jesse Bradford	...	Ryan Pierce
William Fichtner	...	Justice Christopher Mulready
Lily Tomlin	...	Deborah Fiderer
Mitch Ryan	...	Senator Roland Pierce (as Mitchell Ryan)
Milo O'Shea	...	Chief Justice Roy Ashland
Melissa Marsala	...	Rina
Kathleen York	...	Andrea Wyatt

Storyline

Josh's efforts to break the deadlock over judicial nominees is brought to a head by the death of a Supreme Court Justice. With the Republicans controlling Congress, the administration's chances of getting a replacement they want appear to be slim. Despite this, Josh and Toby begin back-channel negotiations over a radical scheme which could be exactly what the overly-moderate judicial system needs.

---

Plot Keywords:

supreme court justice

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 2004 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 23, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

John Wells Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

41 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The case Mulready and Lang are speaking of is U.S. v Lopez, a landmark Supreme Court case in which the Supreme Court ended 50 years of precedents allowing Congress to federally mandate certain legal standards (including civil rights and federal gun control laws) based on a very liberal interpretation of the Commerce Clause (Article 1, Section 8. Clause 3) of the U.S. Constitution.

---

Goofs

The characters state that there is no liberal on the court. In the first season Bartlett put Justice Mendoza on the bench, who was quite liberal. If for some reason Mendoza had left the bench, Bartlett would have appointed another liberal, so no matter what there would have been a democrat on the bench.

---

Quotes

Justice Christopher Mulready: So why a racial preference and not an economic one?
Charlie Young: Because affirmative action is about a legacy of racial oppression.
Justice Christopher Mulready: It's about compromising admission standards.
Charlie Young: That's bull. Excuse me. It's about leveling the playing field after 300 years...
Justice Christopher Mulready: See, this is where the liberal argument goes off the tracks. You get stuck in the past. Now, you want to come back at me with "Grading is based on past performance, but admissions should be based on potential, on how a candidate may thrive with this sort...
[...]

---

Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #22.196 (2006)

---

Soundtracks

"Mandolin Concerto in C Major"
(uncredited)
Written by Antonio Vivaldi
Performed by Musici Di San Marco

User Reviews

Brilliant episode

This episode leaves me with a good feeling. I have to admit that I had misty eyes all through the last half hour. And its difficult to claim that "West Wing" usually does that to the viewers.

The reason for my joy for this episode is two-folded. First of all there is Glenn Close, perfectly casted as a liberal judge. Second there is the message, that the gloomy impression of a Left and Right in USA, unable to communicate, is not true.

The beauty lies in the compromise that does not look like the usual compromise. Instead of victory for the mediocre, we see a victory of the genius.

This episode is also the last high peak before the series finally loses its momentum.