Litmus test

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Litmus (pH indicator)
below pH 4.5		above pH 8.3
red	↔	blue
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The term litmus test can be literal or metaphorical. In common use, it refers to any test in which a single factor is decisive.

Chemistry

The literal meaning comes from chemistry. Litmus is a water-soluble dye extracted from certain lichens and absorbed on to filter paper. The resulting piece of paper becomes a pH indicator (one of the oldest), used to test materials for acidity. Blue litmus paper turns red under acidic conditions and red litmus paper turns blue under basic conditions, the colour change occurring over the pH range 4.5-8.3 (at 25°C). The active ingredient of Litmus is called Erythrolitmin.

Politics

Applied to politics, it is a question asked of a potential candidate for high office, the answer to which would determine whether the nominating official would choose to proceed with the appointment or nomination. In this context, the phrase comes up most often with respect to nominations to the judiciary.

During U.S. presidential election campaigns, litmus tests the nominees might use are more fervently discussed when vacancies for the U.S. Supreme Court appear likely. Advocates for various social ideas or policies often wrangle heatedly over what litmus test, if any, the president ought to apply when nominating a new candidate for a spot on the Supreme Court. Support for, or opposition to, abortion is one example of a common decisive factor in single-issue politics; another might be support of strict constructionism. Defenders of litmus tests argue that some issue is so important that it overwhelms other concerns (especially if there are other qualified candidates that pass the test).

The political litmus test is often used when appointing judges. However, this test to determine the political attitude of a nominee is not without error. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren was appointed under the impression that he was conservative but his tenure was marked by liberal dissents. Today, the litmus test is used along with other methods such as past voting records when selecting political candidates.

Professor Eugene Volokh believes that the legitimacy of such tests is a "tough question," and argues that they may undermine the fairness of the judiciary:

imagine a justice testifies under oath before the Senate about his views on (say) abortion, and later reaches a contrary decision [after carefully examining the arguments]. “Perjury!” partisans on the relevant side will likely cry: They’ll assume the statement made with an eye towards confirmation was a lie, rather than that the justice has genuinely changed his mind. Even if no calls for impeachment follow, the rancor and contempt towards the justice would be much greater than if he had simply disappointed his backers’ expectations.

Faced with that danger, a justice may well feel pressured into deciding the way that he testified, and rejecting attempts at persuasion. Yet that would be a violation of the judge’s duty to sincerely consider the parties’ arguments.[1]