I am opposed to term limits. If William O. Douglas had been subjected to term limits, his time would have expired around 1957. The problem here is NOT the “need” for rules and restrictions, but for appointing better people than have been appointed especially in recent years. Thomas, Scalia, Alito, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Barrett exemplify the kind of jurists who should not be on the bench. Thomas’ wife’s involvement in far-right groups strikes me as particularly dangerous.
All three are good, with some modifications and additions. We don't want to expand the number of justices by having Trump appoint three more. The court is supposed to be a third, independent branch of government. Having justices appointed by the President and approved by Congress is not "independent". How about having the justices elected at large from a slate of say six sitting lower court justices nominated two by the President, two by the House, and two by the Senate. Election would be to select one justice every two years to replace a justice who had served out an 18yr term, plus replace any justice who had died or retired or been removed short of his term limit. The shadow docket needs to be banned, which Congress can do.
I ABSOLUTELY agree about both of your additional suggestions: banning the shadow docket and having the justices no longer be appointed by the president. But I would even say we need to go further in terms of making the appointment process independent: the president should not appoint any judges, because the executive branch already has way too much power; instead, all judges should either be chosen by Congress or by direct election or by some independent committee (not sure which is best, and it may be good to have some of each)
The poll only allowed me to select one, but for me solid, enforceable ethics and term limits are equal. If we've learned nothing over the past 10 years it's that our established democratic guardrails are not really stopping flagrant abuses of the standards. Term limits on the other hand seem to me to balance fidelity to the Constitution with changing times.
definitely reformed. without an honest unbiased supreme court there is no democracy. the current court has been making horrific decisions that are destroying the very foundation of the constitution and human decency.
Congress could do all that and more, but it will not since many if not most Congresscritters share the SCOTUS majority's views. Change would require replacing them, which in turn requires a very deep political realignment from the bottom up.
Ethics reforms are absolutely crucial. But since several justices already seem to have behaved in blatantly corrupt ways, I am wondering: what are the prospects, if any, for removing these corrupt justices? (Will the effort to impeach Roberts go anywhere?)
I think expanding the court could be good, but there does need to be a way to keep it from being a runaway trend where the court expands with each president. I am deeply ambivalent about term limits, because I’m very worried about the potential increase in corruptibility, as mentioned, and I worry that no amount of ethics reform can fully correct for that.
I also agree with @Brent Meeker that we must (1) change the system so justices are no longer appointed by the president, since this undermines the independence of the judicial branch; and (2) BAN THE SHADOW DOCKET!
Age limit not term limit. Expand the court to enable it to handle the increases in cases not to create a ideological majority I suggest going to either 11 or 15. Yes, timely held hearings and votes should be ironclad even if Congress has to stay through recesses to get it done. Anyone seeking ANY political office or seat on ANY court bench should be required to pass a drug test. Psych evaluation, submit a basic application and a detailed resume. Plus they should have a thorough background check and open public Q & A.
All three plus mandatory age limit of 65. All people in the federal government - elected, appoinred or hired - should have a mandatory age limit of 65. I am the widow of a federal employee and I support this. This age limit (going up toward 67 now) is the law in Germany for every worker - government or private industry. According to my nephew and many friends - all citizens there - it works out well because there are also national pensions for all and healthcare for all. People there don't scream about paying 50% taxes because they like living in a nice country with little homelessness and crime and no guns.
The entire system has made our US Supreme Court Justices king and queens. The system is extremely outdated. Clarence Thomas and Bret Kavanaugh should have never been appointed because of their proclivity towards sexual misconduct. Those men are a continued embarrassment of what our Supreme Court Justice’s should not be. The American Justice system is broken.
Thanks for all the thoughtful comments! Next time I'll create an option "All of the above"!
I am opposed to term limits. If William O. Douglas had been subjected to term limits, his time would have expired around 1957. The problem here is NOT the “need” for rules and restrictions, but for appointing better people than have been appointed especially in recent years. Thomas, Scalia, Alito, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch and Barrett exemplify the kind of jurists who should not be on the bench. Thomas’ wife’s involvement in far-right groups strikes me as particularly dangerous.
Also term limits and high ethics standards (the higher the court the more stringent the ethics requirements should be).
All three are good, with some modifications and additions. We don't want to expand the number of justices by having Trump appoint three more. The court is supposed to be a third, independent branch of government. Having justices appointed by the President and approved by Congress is not "independent". How about having the justices elected at large from a slate of say six sitting lower court justices nominated two by the President, two by the House, and two by the Senate. Election would be to select one justice every two years to replace a justice who had served out an 18yr term, plus replace any justice who had died or retired or been removed short of his term limit. The shadow docket needs to be banned, which Congress can do.
I ABSOLUTELY agree about both of your additional suggestions: banning the shadow docket and having the justices no longer be appointed by the president. But I would even say we need to go further in terms of making the appointment process independent: the president should not appoint any judges, because the executive branch already has way too much power; instead, all judges should either be chosen by Congress or by direct election or by some independent committee (not sure which is best, and it may be good to have some of each)
The poll only allowed me to select one, but for me solid, enforceable ethics and term limits are equal. If we've learned nothing over the past 10 years it's that our established democratic guardrails are not really stopping flagrant abuses of the standards. Term limits on the other hand seem to me to balance fidelity to the Constitution with changing times.
definitely reformed. without an honest unbiased supreme court there is no democracy. the current court has been making horrific decisions that are destroying the very foundation of the constitution and human decency.
That shadow docket needs to go.
Congress could do all that and more, but it will not since many if not most Congresscritters share the SCOTUS majority's views. Change would require replacing them, which in turn requires a very deep political realignment from the bottom up.
Ethics reforms are absolutely crucial. But since several justices already seem to have behaved in blatantly corrupt ways, I am wondering: what are the prospects, if any, for removing these corrupt justices? (Will the effort to impeach Roberts go anywhere?)
I think expanding the court could be good, but there does need to be a way to keep it from being a runaway trend where the court expands with each president. I am deeply ambivalent about term limits, because I’m very worried about the potential increase in corruptibility, as mentioned, and I worry that no amount of ethics reform can fully correct for that.
I also agree with @Brent Meeker that we must (1) change the system so justices are no longer appointed by the president, since this undermines the independence of the judicial branch; and (2) BAN THE SHADOW DOCKET!
All three of these reforms are absolutely necessary and I support them all. These reforms are not mutually exclusive.
Age limit not term limit. Expand the court to enable it to handle the increases in cases not to create a ideological majority I suggest going to either 11 or 15. Yes, timely held hearings and votes should be ironclad even if Congress has to stay through recesses to get it done. Anyone seeking ANY political office or seat on ANY court bench should be required to pass a drug test. Psych evaluation, submit a basic application and a detailed resume. Plus they should have a thorough background check and open public Q & A.
All three plus mandatory age limit of 65. All people in the federal government - elected, appoinred or hired - should have a mandatory age limit of 65. I am the widow of a federal employee and I support this. This age limit (going up toward 67 now) is the law in Germany for every worker - government or private industry. According to my nephew and many friends - all citizens there - it works out well because there are also national pensions for all and healthcare for all. People there don't scream about paying 50% taxes because they like living in a nice country with little homelessness and crime and no guns.
I believe term limits are reasonable. Imagine if the president and Congress had lifetime appointments- gah!
Leave the court alone. It has been modified enough. We shouldn't reform it every time we disagree with them.
If you're interested, see my post on why Supreme Court reforms won't work, and could actually be harmful:
https://andersnewbury.substack.com/p/proposed-supreme-court-reforms-wont?r=7ccwnk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
The entire system has made our US Supreme Court Justices king and queens. The system is extremely outdated. Clarence Thomas and Bret Kavanaugh should have never been appointed because of their proclivity towards sexual misconduct. Those men are a continued embarrassment of what our Supreme Court Justice’s should not be. The American Justice system is broken.