Today, with the Confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, has for the First time in Decades, made Democrats think about Progressive Reforms to the Supreme Court, after Conservatives now hold a 5-3 Majority, with a Swing Vote, on the Court. It has made some Democratic Senators consider using their Power to achieve Deep Structual Change, as opposed to Cosmetic Bipartisan Redecorating.

The easiest Solution to the Republican stranglehold is Court Exspansion by Increasing the Number of Justices. This could be achieved through a Legislative Act and would be Inoculated against Consitutional Challenge because it's been done a bunch of times before.

The Problem is, Court Expansion sounds Political to People who don't know how the Constitution works. It sounds Political to People who don't realize that Increasing the Number of Justices is the Best way to avoid the Bare-Knuckled Partisan fight that happens every time One of the Nine Justices dies or retires. This has led some Democrats to Advance Alternative Reforms that sound Modest but would be, in fact, much more difficult to Pull Off, because they'd require a Reimagining of the Constitution.

The most Popular of these ostensibly sober but fundamentally Improbable Proposals in Term Limits, which got a Substantial Boost in September, when Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA, 17th District), Joe Kennedy III (D-MA, 4th District), and Don Byer Jr. (D-VA, 8th District), introduced a Bill to Restrict the Nine Justices to a Single 18 year Terms.

This Proposal would mean that each President would get to Appoint at least Two Justices to the Court per Four year Term. The Idea is that this would make the Court more Responsive to Electorial Politics and End the Current Practice of letting Justices wield Power for 30 or 40 Years.

Term Limits have Substantial Support, even across Party Lines. Fix the Court a Group that has been pushing this idea for a while, found that 77% of Americans Favor some form of Term Limits. The Problem is that they are likely Unconstitutional. The Constitution says Justices serve, during good behavior, which functionally means they Serve for Life, absent Impeachment. Term Limit Advocates argue that they could get around this by moving Term-Limited Justices down to the Federal Courts. They would still get to Serve for Life, just Not entirely on the Supreme Court. But Sumpreme Court Justices would proberly Kill this Proposal by claiming to be Guided Strictly by the Text of the Constitution.

The Recongnition of this Reality has led some Democrats down a more Complicated road, Jurisdication Strpping. It surprises some People to learn that the Supreme Court's Power to Declare Acts of Congress Unconstitutional is Not actually in the Constitution. That Power, called Judicial Review, was claimed by the Court in the Landmark 1803 Case, Marbury v. Madison, and Congress has never stopped it.

One Solution is for Congress to Pass Legislation Stripping the Federal Courts of the Authority to Rule on Certain Classes of Laws. The Chief Justice, Roberts, already did this, by Not allowing the Federal Courts to handle State Gerrymandering Cases, leaving that Decision to the States Highest Courts. I would go further and take away Election Process Cases, except those where the State Laws Violates Constitutional and Federal Laws.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker