The Constitution provides broad parameters for the judicial nomination process. It gives the responsibility for nominating federal judges and Supreme Court justices to the president.
More than 600 judges sit on district courts, almost 200 judges sit on courts of appeals, and 9 justices make up the Supreme Court. Because all federal judges have life terms, no single president will make all of these appointments.
Still, many vacancies do occur during a president's term of office, and the rarest and most important of these are the seats on the Supreme Court. To simplify the selection process, the president relies on many sources to recommend appropriate nominees for judicial posts.
Recommendations often come from the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, members of Congress, sitting judges and justices, and the American Bar Association. Some judicial hopefuls even nominate themselves.

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