On the appointment of Judges.

There is presently a vacancy on the United States Supreme Court. President Joe Biden expects a nominee to be announced by the end of February.¹ He will nominate a Black woman.²

11-year-old Maddi Morgan has written to the White House to throw her hat into the ring. As she puts it, "[t]here aren't really many requirements to be a part of the Supreme Court. You just have to be appointed by the president." She says that children "don't have a voice in this country", and asks that they be given "a small one".

The White House has confirmed that it has received Maddi's letter. According to a spokesperson, "[w]hile it's clear that Maddi is very bright, gifted at making a case, and will go on to do great things, I cannot comment on the Supreme Court vetting process." So the White House does not appear to be ruling her out just yet.

Conversely, Maddi's endeavour probably wouldn't get very far if she was in Singapore. Broadly speaking, the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore provides that a person is qualified to be appointed as a Supreme Court Judge if they have been a legal practitioner, judicial officer, or legal service officer for an aggregate period of 10 years or more.³ While Maddi is certainly on the right track, it would be a bit of a stretch to assume that she has been any of the above from the age of 2 onwards.

That being said, I wish Maddi all the best. The world's a pretty crazy place right now - perhaps what we need is a little more youthful optimism.