Expanding the court to 13 would match the number of federal court circuits, but why stop there? Remove life appointments, rotate the position of Chief Justice every three years, and have a documented and enforceable code of ethics.
Yes, this is not the time for false dichotomy. Several reforms need to be carried out for the reasons Contrarian makes clear. And, if Democrats are too timid, too worried about a Republican hissy fit, we should remind them consistently to stop acting like the abused partner. Republicans got us into this mess and keep it going. It’s called making an argument like Ossoff is so skillfully doing & which Dems seem to have forgotten how to do. If they can’t or won’t explain the obvious, then they don’t deserve to serve let alone be in the majority.
One would think that having risen to the highest court in the land, the appointees would at the very least be well acquainted with the Constitution and have a reputation for personal and professional integrity. This MAGA crowd doesn't even believe in the rule of law, appears to have no familiarity with the Constitution, and obviously has zero integrity. It makes one wonder how they ever earned a law degree in the first place.
Unfortunately this applies to too many JDs lawyering for corporations and certain other entities. Did they learn in law school how to circumvent the law as well as how (and when) to obey it? I'm not sure. Possibly it was the post-grad temptation of a six-figure salary with stock options.
None of the points mentioned in the comme t and in the column will need constitutional ammendment. Where in the constitution does it say any of thesevare prohibited?
That last one --an enforceable code of ethics -- may be the surest, quickest way to solve our current crisis. How long do you think it would be before several justices -- think Thomas and Alito -- got caught with their fingers in the cookie jar?
Agreed! I'm not sure whether increasing the number of justices or putting term limits in place would work better so maybe doing both would increase the chances of our actually having a SUPREME court once again. And ethics should be a no-brainer!! I love the idea of rotating the position of Chief Justice! Why didn't I think of that?
"Demand Justice urges Congress to keep expansion as a viable option, observing that the “most persuasive argument in favor of expansion is the aggressive approach of the Court itself: the right-wing majority will continue to dramatically remake the law to favor the oligarchy.”
It's hard to admit that we are, indeed, an oligarchy, and not by accident.
Not only Citizens United, but the execrable "presidential immunity" decision that this Extreme Court handed over to our fascist felon leader has proven beyond any doubt that court reform is mandatory if we want to remain a Democratic Republic.
I see more and more people supporting the idea of term limits and SCOTUS expansion, mostly because they have nakedly demonstrated their partisan, corrupt leanings.
Look in the mirror, Justice Roberts, if you want to know why so many people have lost faith in your branch of government!
The drop dead date [pun intended] for Mitch to finally show himself is September 11th when his vote will be crucial to the republicans if they hope to pass another round of farm bailouts in committee.
Exactly. If he's still alive, may he be suffering the torments of a guilty conscience for the destruction his "leadership" has wrought on the nation. Or if dead, may he be installed in the hell of Sartre's "No Exit" with the appropriate roommates.
I think they will roll him into his voting locale in a wheelchair and have his attendant guide his dead hand to make his voting selections, then wheel him out and drive him to the cemetery where his open grave awaits him.
Another great Jen column. Increasing the Supreme Court is a MUST if we don't want another half-assed attempt to topple our democracy. We're lucky that, as much damage Trump and his goons have done, they're too stupid, shortsighted, and greedy to have ruined the great American Experiment. We should also try to get the votes to make D.C. and PR states. While we're at it, abolish the Electoral College. There is a statewide movement already afoot for that, and it won't take many more states to sign on to make it happen. And finally, when Democrats take back control, they need to codify voting rights, Roe, and other key issues. Oh, and speaking of SCOTUS, I almost forgot—we need to go after the corrupt members of the court and impeach and/or arrest them. If we're going to fascism-proof our country, let's just go all the way.
“We're lucky that, as much damage Trump and his goons have done, they're too stupid, shortsighted, and greedy to have ruined the great American Experiment. “
Bingo. I keep reminding myself of that. Every day I thank the Universe these bozos couldn’t pour piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel. 1930’s Nazis are laughing themselves silly in hell watching this clown show screw up everything they touch.
Yes,yes, & yes. There’s so much to be done but Dems, if they’re allowed to win, if we are allowed to vote, must make clear WHY they’re doing said reforms. Typical Dem action - bringing tea & crumpets to a knife fight - simply will not do. Jeffries meeting with Kushner is not a good sign but it is another sign that Dems will have to think & act differently. (And need new leadership? The Clinton era is long past) Voters don’t want appeasement, they want action.
Yes yes and yes. SCOTUS, Inc. will continue to dismantle our democracy until We the People demand that it be unpacked. This corrupted court needs to be expanded immediately or nothing Dems do (if we are lucky enough to get out of this mess) will pass the muster of CFO John Roberts and his corrupt brethren on the court.
Yes. I think states need to be urgently formulating a plan to deliver ballots that does not involve the USPS. City workers? Amazon vans? Door Dash drivers? There are other ways to move pieces of paper around.
Maybe it would be as simple as mailing the ballots in plain envelopes so the USPS can't identify them as ballots.
Historians, notably Heather Cox Richardson, generally favor expanding the Supreme Court. Their arguments for doing so are persuasive. We’ve certainly seen the damage to democracy with the status quo.
James Clyburn is hardly anyone's idea of a lefty, but when even moderate stalwarts like him are calling for SCOTUS expansion, it shows how much traction this issue has gained. And the Roberts court has only itself to blame. Their abuse of the shadow docket to allow Trump to do things no other president has done is, by itself, sufficient reason to rebalance the court. Ex, it was through the shadow docket that the MAGA justices allowed Trump to bypass Due Process and quickly ship migrant detainees to third countries, including to hell holes like CECOT and to war zones.
Court expansion is just one element of court reform that's desperately needed since the current court has proven itself unwilling to police its own ethical and financial problems and never shows to congress the same deference it gives to the executive branch. Court reform is coming. Like a freight train. I'd LOVE to see Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse on The Contrarian talking about why its needed and what should be done.
Something that bears considering in Supreme Court reform is removing the grandeur of being a Supreme Court Justice. Since federal judges have lifetime tenure, a justice doesn't need to necessarily be termed out of office completely. We can rotate federal appellate court justices in and out of the Supreme Court. So, you are a federal appellate judge. You do five years in the 5th Circuit, then five years at the Supreme Court, then five years in the 4th circuit, and so on and so forth.
That is a lot of moving around. But, the military does it as do other kinds of jobs. If you are serious about the law and not caught up in the political and egotistical aspects of the Supreme Court you will do this. Put the emphasis back on the law.
I agree with Robert Hubbell’s analysis pushing to 21 or more. 13 is still asking for trouble if there is a slim majority and one liberal justice (who actually believes in the Constitution!!) gets sick or injured. We need to take back our country from these sycophantic so-called justices, and reverse the mountain of corrupt and unconstitutional decisions.
I absolutely agree. For quite a while now I have insisted that if the majorities and President are Democratic, the first order of business is appointing 4 progressive Justices and re-litigating the worst decisions, such as Citizens United, Presidential Immunity, and Roe. Republicans will squeel, but they created the disaster and must be ignored. Building a new and better country can only happen with voiding of the current corrupt Court.
Dem candidates must state boldly what they want done. In specific terms. We need to know exactly what we are voting for. No one now wants more of the same old same old. Establish dems might actually have to do some bold things for a change.
Speaking of Republicans’ eye rolling “mandates”… Remember when George Bush claimed “mandate” for all the tax cuts and adventuring he did while losing the popular vote and only winning the election because of malfeasance in Florida followed by unprecedented Supreme Court intervention throwing him the election? You don’t even need to win legitimately to claim a mandate, if you’re Republican.
Expanding the court to 13 would match the number of federal court circuits, but why stop there? Remove life appointments, rotate the position of Chief Justice every three years, and have a documented and enforceable code of ethics.
Yes, this is not the time for false dichotomy. Several reforms need to be carried out for the reasons Contrarian makes clear. And, if Democrats are too timid, too worried about a Republican hissy fit, we should remind them consistently to stop acting like the abused partner. Republicans got us into this mess and keep it going. It’s called making an argument like Ossoff is so skillfully doing & which Dems seem to have forgotten how to do. If they can’t or won’t explain the obvious, then they don’t deserve to serve let alone be in the majority.
That would require a Constitutional amendment. I'm in favor though.
The code of ethics wouldn't. It's really bizarre that supreme court justices can openly take bribes. That needs to stop.
One would think that having risen to the highest court in the land, the appointees would at the very least be well acquainted with the Constitution and have a reputation for personal and professional integrity. This MAGA crowd doesn't even believe in the rule of law, appears to have no familiarity with the Constitution, and obviously has zero integrity. It makes one wonder how they ever earned a law degree in the first place.
Unfortunately this applies to too many JDs lawyering for corporations and certain other entities. Did they learn in law school how to circumvent the law as well as how (and when) to obey it? I'm not sure. Possibly it was the post-grad temptation of a six-figure salary with stock options.
None of the points mentioned in the comme t and in the column will need constitutional ammendment. Where in the constitution does it say any of thesevare prohibited?
No it would not! Read the article.
That last one --an enforceable code of ethics -- may be the surest, quickest way to solve our current crisis. How long do you think it would be before several justices -- think Thomas and Alito -- got caught with their fingers in the cookie jar?
It would also be the easiest to enact, IMO.
I like the addition of rotating chiefs, maybe to 1/2 of the Supreme Court’s term limit?
Agreed! I'm not sure whether increasing the number of justices or putting term limits in place would work better so maybe doing both would increase the chances of our actually having a SUPREME court once again. And ethics should be a no-brainer!! I love the idea of rotating the position of Chief Justice! Why didn't I think of that?
That reminds me — where’s Mitch?
"Demand Justice urges Congress to keep expansion as a viable option, observing that the “most persuasive argument in favor of expansion is the aggressive approach of the Court itself: the right-wing majority will continue to dramatically remake the law to favor the oligarchy.”
It's hard to admit that we are, indeed, an oligarchy, and not by accident.
Not only Citizens United, but the execrable "presidential immunity" decision that this Extreme Court handed over to our fascist felon leader has proven beyond any doubt that court reform is mandatory if we want to remain a Democratic Republic.
I see more and more people supporting the idea of term limits and SCOTUS expansion, mostly because they have nakedly demonstrated their partisan, corrupt leanings.
Look in the mirror, Justice Roberts, if you want to know why so many people have lost faith in your branch of government!
The drop dead date [pun intended] for Mitch to finally show himself is September 11th when his vote will be crucial to the republicans if they hope to pass another round of farm bailouts in committee.
Thanks for the info!
Exactly. If he's still alive, may he be suffering the torments of a guilty conscience for the destruction his "leadership" has wrought on the nation. Or if dead, may he be installed in the hell of Sartre's "No Exit" with the appropriate roommates.
I think they will roll him into his voting locale in a wheelchair and have his attendant guide his dead hand to make his voting selections, then wheel him out and drive him to the cemetery where his open grave awaits him.
Another great Jen column. Increasing the Supreme Court is a MUST if we don't want another half-assed attempt to topple our democracy. We're lucky that, as much damage Trump and his goons have done, they're too stupid, shortsighted, and greedy to have ruined the great American Experiment. We should also try to get the votes to make D.C. and PR states. While we're at it, abolish the Electoral College. There is a statewide movement already afoot for that, and it won't take many more states to sign on to make it happen. And finally, when Democrats take back control, they need to codify voting rights, Roe, and other key issues. Oh, and speaking of SCOTUS, I almost forgot—we need to go after the corrupt members of the court and impeach and/or arrest them. If we're going to fascism-proof our country, let's just go all the way.
“We're lucky that, as much damage Trump and his goons have done, they're too stupid, shortsighted, and greedy to have ruined the great American Experiment. “
Bingo. I keep reminding myself of that. Every day I thank the Universe these bozos couldn’t pour piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel. 1930’s Nazis are laughing themselves silly in hell watching this clown show screw up everything they touch.
Yes,yes, & yes. There’s so much to be done but Dems, if they’re allowed to win, if we are allowed to vote, must make clear WHY they’re doing said reforms. Typical Dem action - bringing tea & crumpets to a knife fight - simply will not do. Jeffries meeting with Kushner is not a good sign but it is another sign that Dems will have to think & act differently. (And need new leadership? The Clinton era is long past) Voters don’t want appeasement, they want action.
Yes yes and yes. SCOTUS, Inc. will continue to dismantle our democracy until We the People demand that it be unpacked. This corrupted court needs to be expanded immediately or nothing Dems do (if we are lucky enough to get out of this mess) will pass the muster of CFO John Roberts and his corrupt brethren on the court.
Court reform, like defunding ICE is a must, thank you.
How can the courts defund ICE? Last I looked, appropriations were up to Congress.
If the Court approves Trump's plan to allow the USPS to determine who can vote, then it will be too late; democracy will die on that day.
I'll volunteer to go pick up and deliver ballots if we need to circumvent the postal system.
Yes. I think states need to be urgently formulating a plan to deliver ballots that does not involve the USPS. City workers? Amazon vans? Door Dash drivers? There are other ways to move pieces of paper around.
Maybe it would be as simple as mailing the ballots in plain envelopes so the USPS can't identify them as ballots.
Your relentless positivity braces me every morning. I’m so glad you are younger than me.👍
Historians, notably Heather Cox Richardson, generally favor expanding the Supreme Court. Their arguments for doing so are persuasive. We’ve certainly seen the damage to democracy with the status quo.
James Clyburn is hardly anyone's idea of a lefty, but when even moderate stalwarts like him are calling for SCOTUS expansion, it shows how much traction this issue has gained. And the Roberts court has only itself to blame. Their abuse of the shadow docket to allow Trump to do things no other president has done is, by itself, sufficient reason to rebalance the court. Ex, it was through the shadow docket that the MAGA justices allowed Trump to bypass Due Process and quickly ship migrant detainees to third countries, including to hell holes like CECOT and to war zones.
Court expansion is just one element of court reform that's desperately needed since the current court has proven itself unwilling to police its own ethical and financial problems and never shows to congress the same deference it gives to the executive branch. Court reform is coming. Like a freight train. I'd LOVE to see Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse on The Contrarian talking about why its needed and what should be done.
I’d like to see Whitehouse on the court!
Same!
This is an absolute priority.
Something that bears considering in Supreme Court reform is removing the grandeur of being a Supreme Court Justice. Since federal judges have lifetime tenure, a justice doesn't need to necessarily be termed out of office completely. We can rotate federal appellate court justices in and out of the Supreme Court. So, you are a federal appellate judge. You do five years in the 5th Circuit, then five years at the Supreme Court, then five years in the 4th circuit, and so on and so forth.
That is a lot of moving around. But, the military does it as do other kinds of jobs. If you are serious about the law and not caught up in the political and egotistical aspects of the Supreme Court you will do this. Put the emphasis back on the law.
That's actually not a bad idea!!!
I agree with Robert Hubbell’s analysis pushing to 21 or more. 13 is still asking for trouble if there is a slim majority and one liberal justice (who actually believes in the Constitution!!) gets sick or injured. We need to take back our country from these sycophantic so-called justices, and reverse the mountain of corrupt and unconstitutional decisions.
Agree, 9 is too few people deciding critical issues. 13 is still too few.
Yes, I agree with expansion to 21.
I absolutely agree. For quite a while now I have insisted that if the majorities and President are Democratic, the first order of business is appointing 4 progressive Justices and re-litigating the worst decisions, such as Citizens United, Presidential Immunity, and Roe. Republicans will squeel, but they created the disaster and must be ignored. Building a new and better country can only happen with voiding of the current corrupt Court.
Dem candidates must state boldly what they want done. In specific terms. We need to know exactly what we are voting for. No one now wants more of the same old same old. Establish dems might actually have to do some bold things for a change.
Speaking of Republicans’ eye rolling “mandates”… Remember when George Bush claimed “mandate” for all the tax cuts and adventuring he did while losing the popular vote and only winning the election because of malfeasance in Florida followed by unprecedented Supreme Court intervention throwing him the election? You don’t even need to win legitimately to claim a mandate, if you’re Republican.
The only alternative for curing this badly diseased Supreme Court would be very aggressive impeachments of the corrupt Federalist Society Injustices.