After a moderate Supreme Court justice retires, a Democratic president near the end of his second term nominates a new justice with a moderate background. The Republican Senate majority leader blocks the nomination until the end of the congressional session. A newly elected Republican president nominates a conservative judge to the position. This nominee is confirmed by the Republican-majority Senate. During the first term, the new justice sides with other conservative justices to render several 5–4 opinions.

What does this scenario reveal about the implications of replacing a Supreme Court justice?

A. Justices must take neutral positions and not let their ideology influence court decisions.
B. Justices’ decisions will always match the party ideology of the president who nominated them.
C. A new justice must maintain the balance of ideology and make decisions consistent with the retiring justice’s views.
D. A justice with different ideology from a retiring justice may cause the court to lean a particular direction for decades.