Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar was an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court when he died on January 23rd, 1893. President Benjamin Harrison of the Republican Party was a lame duck, already having been voted out of office. 2 short months later Grover Cleveland would return back to the position he had left 4 years prior. In that short span, he managed to appoint and successfully confirm a replacement for Lamar--a Democrat previously appointed by Cleveland--with another Democrat, this time Howell Edmunds Jackson. So my question is, why didn't Harrison ultimately wait for Cleveland to take office if he were merely going to appoint a Justice of the party/political persuasion that was about to take over the presidency, and how was he successful in getting unanimous support for it--something that is rarely seen in modern times?
This won't answer your question directly. That said, the recent megathread on the topic of the Supreme Court answered a very similar question of when appointees became a controversial topic.
I believe in a roundabout way it has at the very least background reading that you will find of interest for your question.