#SCOTUS Reform

[justinspoliticalcorner]

President Biden set to announce support for major Supreme Court reforms

Tyler Pager and Michael Scherer at WaPo:

President Biden is finalizing plans to endorse major changes to the Supreme Court in the coming weeks, including proposals for legislation to establish term limits for the justices and an enforceable ethics code, according to two people briefed on the plans.

He is also weighing whether to call for a constitutional amendment to eliminate broad immunity for presidents and other constitutional officeholders, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The announcement would mark a major shift for Biden, a former chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who has long resisted calls to make substantive changes to the high court. The potential changes come in response to growing outrage among his supporters about recent ethics scandals surrounding Justice Clarence Thomas and decisions by the new court majority that have changed legal precedent on issues including abortion and federal regulatory powers. Biden previewed the shift in a Zoom call Saturday with the Congressional Progressive Caucus. [...]

Term limits and an ethics code would be subject to congressional approval, which would face long odds in the Republican-controlled House and a slim Democratic majority in the Senate. Under current rules, passage in the Senate would require 60 votes. A constitutional amendment requires even more hurdles, including two-thirds support of both chambers, or by a convention of two-thirds of the states, and then approval by three-fourths of state legislatures. The details of Biden’s considered policies have not been disclosed. A White House spokesperson declined to comment.

[...] Eight Democratic senators have co-sponsored a bill that would establish 18-year terms for Supreme Court justices, with a new justice appointed every two years. The nine most recently appointed justices would sit for appellate jurisdiction cases, while others would be able to hear original jurisdiction cases or to step in as a substitute if one of the most recent nine is conflicted or cannot hear a case for another reason.

Good News! President Joe Biden set to endorse major reforms to SCOTUS, such as term limits and an ethics code with actual teeth.

[soberscientistlife]

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

[mylionheart2]

Here we go. Conservative Supreme Court now breaking federal law, and throwing U.S. citizens off the voter rolls in Virginia to once again help Donald Trump.

[personal-blog243]

It’s a long shot but let’s hope some of this gets passed!

[amaditalks]

It’s not going to pass during this Congress and may not even be put forth as a bill just yet, because the Republicans hold the House and the Speaker has already said that he wouldn’t even let it move through the process.

This is one of those proposals that should motivate you to go vote for all of the people who will be necessary to make it real. That means Democrats running for the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. The plan is fully endorsed by VP Harris.

hot off the presses

He's proposing:

No Immunity for Crimes a Former President Committed in Office

Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices

Binding Code of Conduct for the Supreme Court (enforceable conduct and ethics rules that require Justices to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity, and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest.)

The question now is, whether it'll get passed (and if it doesn't, then you can bet if Harris wins and has a Democratic Congress, she'll try again and get it passed).

[hale-nathan]

Trump Weird News - Presidential Immunity & Supreme Court

[justinspoliticalcorner]

This nation was founded on a simple yet profound principle: No one is above the law. Not the president of the United States. Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. No one. But the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on July 1 to grant presidents broad immunity from prosecution for crimes they commit in office means there are virtually no limits on what a president can do. The only limits will be those that are self-imposed by the person occupying the Oval Office. [...] On top of dangerous and extreme decisions that overturn settled legal precedents — including Roe v. Wade — the court is mired in a crisis of ethics. Scandals involving several justices have caused the public to question the court’s fairness and independence, which are essential to faithfully carrying out its mission of equal justice under the law. For example, undisclosed gifts to justices from individuals with interests in cases before the court, as well as conflicts of interest connected with Jan. 6 insurrectionists, raise legitimate questions about the court’s impartiality. [...] First, I am calling for a constitutional amendment called the No One Is Above the Law Amendment. It would make clear that there is no immunity for crimes a former president committed while in office. I share our Founders’ belief that the president’s power is limited, not absolute. We are a nation of laws — not of kings or dictators. Second, we have had term limits for presidents for nearly 75 years. We should have the same for Supreme Court justices. The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to its high court. Term limits would help ensure that the court’s membership changes with some regularity. That would make timing for court nominations more predictable and less arbitrary. It would reduce the chance that any single presidency radically alters the makeup of the court for generations to come. I support a system in which the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service on the Supreme Court. Third, I’m calling for a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court. This is common sense. The court’s current voluntary ethics code is weak and self-enforced. Justices should be required to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest. Every other federal judge is bound by an enforceable code of conduct, and there is no reason for the Supreme Court to be exempt. All three of these reforms are supported by a majority of Americans— as well as conservative and liberal constitutional scholars. And I want to thank the bipartisan Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States for its insightful analysis, which informed some of these proposals.

President Joe Biden for The Washington Post on Supreme Court reforms (07.29.2024).

President Joe Biden wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post this morning about his plan to reform the Supreme Court. His plans to fix the nation’s highest court include 3 key items:

Term limits of 18 years.

Binding code of ethics.

Constitutional Amendment that states Presidents cannot have immunity for crimes committed while in office.

These plans are supported by the majority of Americans.

[soberscientistlife]

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

[liberalsarecool]

Clarence Thomas can take millions in paid vacations and gifts from donors with cases before SCOTUS and Federalist Society folks will smile with pride in their corrupt creation.

[el-ffej]

FYI, VP Harris announced she supports these reform programs, too

”Liberal members of the Democratic caucus have increasingly sought to bring dramatic change to the Supreme Court after its conservative majority has delivered a series of Republican policy priorities. At the same time, some justices have come under scrutiny for accepting high-dollar gifts from conservative donors and activists.”

[skull-pun]

Idk man George kinda went hard with this line ngl I think about this whenever parties like reform, the tories, or republicans start to become popular with the general public.

[aunti-christ-ine]

[lost-carcosa]

SCOTUS has reinvented the Divine Right of Kings.

Just in time for Independence Day.