Several Democrats are pushing to pass a bill that will establish term limits for supreme court justices following an unprecedented term where the highest court has produced a series of conservative rulings, turning American law upside down.
Reports revealed that the Supreme Court Tenure Establishment and Retirement Modernization Act (Term) will impose an 18-year term for the supreme court justices, allowing justices to retire from active judicial service after 18 years.
The Act would also allow the president to appoint a new justice every two years.
The proposal came in the wake of the recent decision of the Supreme court that overturned the Americans right to abortion. The court also issued consequential rulings on the environment, gun control and other controversial issues, sparking outrage from the Democrats.
The bill would also force the nine justices now on the court into senior status in order of reverse seniority as the jurists were appointed under the new system.
Democrats push bill that would institute term limits for Supreme Court justices https://t.co/F4RnAWyKBi
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It will also go against the current system where Supreme justices are appointed for life and the position doesn’t have a mandatory retirement age or fixed term for judges on its highest court.
In a statement released by Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat who introduced the bill, he argued that “regularizing appointments every two years will ensure a supreme court that is more representative of the nation, reflecting the choices of recently elected presidents and senators.”
“Term limits for supreme court justices are an essential tool to restoring a constitutional balance to the three branches of the federal government.” He added.
However, the bill is unlikely to pass since it would need the vote of 10 Republicans in the Senate.
US President Joe Biden also didn’t show support for changing the way appointments are made despite pressure from the Democrats.
Moreover, a panel commissioned by Biden also argued that “if two seats on the supreme court are guaranteed to open every four years, the court might become even more of an issue in electoral politics than it currently is.”
“Presidential candidates might have even greater incentives to make promises about who they will appoint, and presidential elections might increasingly appear to the public to also be elections of specific identified persons – now candidates – to the supreme court.” The panel wrote.
