The Fix Is In

The progressive effort to control the Supreme Court

On July 29^th, at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum in Austin, Texas, President Joe Biden revealed his comprehensive plan to overhaul the Supreme Court.  The proposed changes are straightforward:

• No Immunity for Crimes a Former President Committed in Office: This proposal seeks to ensure that the President's power is limited and that the rule of law applies to everyone, including former presidents.

• Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices: Biden believes that Supreme Court justices should serve for a limited term of 18 years. This would help to ensure that the Court's membership changes with some regularity and reduces the chance that any single presidency imposes undue influence for generations to come.

• Binding Code of Conduct for the Supreme Court: This proposal calls for the establishment of a binding, enforceable code of conduct for Supreme Court justices. This code would 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.

Many have compared this proposal to FDR's court packing scheme, also known as the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, which proposed expanding the Supreme Court to as many as 15 judges. The idea was to add one justice for every sitting justice over the age of 70 who had served 10 years or more, with a cap of six additional justices. This was seen by many as a political ploy to get favorable rulings on New Deal legislation that the Court had previously struck down.  FDR’s plan ultimately failed due to strong opposition from both political parties with many arguing that it was an attempt to undermine the independence of the judiciary and concentrate too much power in the executive branch.