Topline
A handful of House Democrats on Tuesday introduced long-shot legislation to fundamentally reshape the Supreme Court, which comes amid pressure from progressives to take action over a recent Court decision that left in place a controversial Texas abortion law.
Key Facts
The bill, introduced by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Don Beyer (D-Va.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) would create 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices, though it would not apply to justices currently serving.
The bill would also give presidents the ability to nominate a new justice every two years and require the Senate to act on each nomination within 120 days before the nominee is automatically seated.
There is debate among constitutional scholars as to whether such reforms require a Constitutional amendment: Thomas Berry of the libertarian Cato Institute argues the term limits are a “close call” but the Senate deadline is “no doubt” unconstitutional.
Beyer spokesperson Aaron Fritschner told Forbes the lawmakers are confident the bill passes constitutional muster in an “academic/legal analyst sense,” but added that the Supreme Court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, could strike it down anyway: “There is an X factor on basically everything, obviously.”
Packaging the reforms as a bill, rather than a constitutional amendment, means they can pass with just a simple majority in the House – though the bill would still be unlikely to pass the Senate, where support from 10 Republicans is needed to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold.
The legislation came just ahead of a Supreme Court decision on Wednesday allowing a Texas law banning nearly all abortions to stay in place while it’s hashed out by lower courts, prompting outcry from Democrats and renewed demands to reform the Court.
Key Background
The bill’s provisions are a direct response to recent maneuvering in Congress over Supreme Court nominations. Democrats are still smarting over Senate Republicans’ refusal to consider now-Attorney General Merrick Garland when he was nominated for the Court in 2016, and over the swift confirmation of conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett just a week before the 2020 election. The idea of 18-year term limits dates back to a proposal from Duke University law professor Paul Carrington in 2005.
Tangent
Some Democrats are calling on 83-year-old liberal Justice Stephen Breyer to retire so that President Joe Biden can nominate his successor while Democrats hold the Senate. Breyer appears to be considering the move, telling the New York Times last month, “I don’t think I’m going to stay there till I die — hope not,” and that ideological considerations will “inevitably be in the psychology” of his decision.
Crucial Quote
“The high-stakes confirmation hearings that occur every time there is a vacancy on the Supreme Court undermine the reputation of our highest judicial body,” Khanna said in a statement, calling the bill a “meaningful step towards standardizing and democratizing the Supreme Court.”
What To Watch For
These reforms could get more mainstream backing if blessed by a commission created by Biden in April to study the issue. The commission, made up of court experts, former judges, scholars and lawyers, is examining the “membership and size” of the Court, as well as the “length of service and turnover of justices.”
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September 04, 2021 at 01:02AM
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Democrats Introduce Bill Creating 18-Year Supreme Court Term Limits, Nominations Every Two Years - Forbes
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