A bill that sets term limits for Supreme Court justices has been introduced by a group of Democrat senators.
Under the proposed legislation, a new justice would be appointed every two years, The Hill reported. That justice would hear every case for 18 years. The justice would then step back from the bench and hear just a “small number of constitutionally required cases.”
Appellate cases, which make up the bulk of the courts’ cases, would be heard only by the nine most recently appointed justices. The remainder would take part in a smaller number of cases under the court’s “original justification,” according to the news outlet.
Introducing the bill were Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey; Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, and Alex Padilla of California.
“The Supreme Court is facing a crisis of legitimacy that is exacerbated by radical decisions at odds with established legal precedent, ethical lapses of sitting justices, and politicization of the confirmation process,” Booker said. ”This crisis has eroded faith and confidence in our nation’s highest court. Fundamental reform is necessary to address this crisis and restore trust in the institution.”
“It shouldn’t be controversial to say that the American people deserve a Supreme Court insulated from politics. But when every confirmation turns into an all out partisan battle, or when one administration alone can overturn a lifetime of precedent, it’s clear: the Court has lost its way,” Padilla said in a statement. “By imposing commonsense term limits, we can lower the temperature on political brinksmanship and start to restore trust in the highest court in our land."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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