Larry J. Sabato: The U.S. Supreme Court: Reforming the Least Democratic Branch
[The founder and director of the renowned Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, Larry J. Sabato has appeared on national television and radio programs including 60 Minutes, Today, Hardball, and Nightline. A Rhodes scholar, he received his doctorate in politics from Oxford, and has been at UVA since 1978.]
The U.S. Supreme Court is neither democratic nor easily changed, to some Americans’ delight and others’ dismay. No one would seriously propose that we elect Justices—just take a look at the tawdry contests in states that put their supreme courts and various judicial posts on the ballot. But is the third federal branch so perfect that it is immune from reform?
This question is worth asking again since we probably face yet another Court appointment in the near future. Justice John Paul Stevens is considering retirement at the age of 90 after 35 years on the Court, a simple fact that in itself encapsulates the static nature of the institution.
The American public just might be ready to consider a judicial reform or two. While the Supreme Court’s approval level in most recent surveys is in the 50s, citizens are not inclined to view the Court as positively as they once did. Conservatives still remember the liberal Warren Court and many unpleasant (to them) decisions since, not least Roe v. Wade, while liberals harrumph when they recall Bush v. Gore in 2000 or, more recently, the Citizens United decision that some say will open the floodgates even more for corporate money in the election process.
For starters, what about abolishing lifetime tenure of Supreme Court Justices (and maybe lower federal court judges) and moving toward a nonrenewable fixed term of 15 to 18 years? One could argue that the Constitution doesn’t guarantee lifetime tenure anyway, saying only that Justices shall serve “during good Behaviour.” When Justices stay on the Supreme Court for decades—well into their 70s, 80s, and beyond—they often become insular and out of touch with new mores, advanced technologies, and younger generations. Structured properly, staggered appointments of fixed-term seats would also insure that each new president, reflecting the mandate of his or her election, would get an appointment or two....
Read entire article at Britannica Blog
The U.S. Supreme Court is neither democratic nor easily changed, to some Americans’ delight and others’ dismay. No one would seriously propose that we elect Justices—just take a look at the tawdry contests in states that put their supreme courts and various judicial posts on the ballot. But is the third federal branch so perfect that it is immune from reform?
This question is worth asking again since we probably face yet another Court appointment in the near future. Justice John Paul Stevens is considering retirement at the age of 90 after 35 years on the Court, a simple fact that in itself encapsulates the static nature of the institution.
The American public just might be ready to consider a judicial reform or two. While the Supreme Court’s approval level in most recent surveys is in the 50s, citizens are not inclined to view the Court as positively as they once did. Conservatives still remember the liberal Warren Court and many unpleasant (to them) decisions since, not least Roe v. Wade, while liberals harrumph when they recall Bush v. Gore in 2000 or, more recently, the Citizens United decision that some say will open the floodgates even more for corporate money in the election process.
For starters, what about abolishing lifetime tenure of Supreme Court Justices (and maybe lower federal court judges) and moving toward a nonrenewable fixed term of 15 to 18 years? One could argue that the Constitution doesn’t guarantee lifetime tenure anyway, saying only that Justices shall serve “during good Behaviour.” When Justices stay on the Supreme Court for decades—well into their 70s, 80s, and beyond—they often become insular and out of touch with new mores, advanced technologies, and younger generations. Structured properly, staggered appointments of fixed-term seats would also insure that each new president, reflecting the mandate of his or her election, would get an appointment or two....