After President Biden announced he would not seek a second term in the White House, he turned his attention to a select few priorities for the end of his Presidential term, including reforming the Supreme Court. Justice Neil Gorsuch said about those proposed changes, “Be careful.”
Biden’s Plan for Supreme Court Reform
Biden’s plan to reform the Supreme Court involves three parts: term limits, a constitutional amendment to limit Presidential powers, and enforceable ethics rules.
Current Lifetime Appointments
As it currently stands, Supreme Court Justices and all federal judges are appointed for life. According to a White House press release, the U.S. is the “only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to the high court justices.”
Proposal for Term Limits
Biden’s proposal would define term limits to make retirements and nomination cycles more predictable. The White House document also emphasized that term limits could “reduce the chance that any single Presidency imposes undue influence for generations to come.”
Justice Gorsuch’s Cautionary Statement:
In a Fox News interview, conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch was asked his opinion on the potential term limit changes. He declined to discuss “what is now a political issue during a presidential election year.”
Gorsuch Responds By Posing Question to Public
But he gave one thought: “The independent judiciary….what does it mean to you as an American? It means you can get a fair hearing under the law and the Constitution when you are unpopular. If you’re in the majority, you don’t need judges and juries to hear you and protect your rights; you’re popular.”
“It’s there for the moments when the spotlight is on you. When the government is coming after you. And don’t you want a ferociously independent judge and jury of your peers to make those decisions? Isn’t that your right as an American? And so I say be careful.”
Motivation for Court Reforms:
After a pile-up of bad press earlier this year, Biden suggested reforms to the court.
Controversy Surrounding Justices:
First, Justice Clarence Thomas, the longest-sitting Justice, was criticized for several reports that he did not disclose trips and gifts. Next, Justice Samuel Alito was embroiled in controversy over two flags flown on his properties.
One flag was flown upside down, and another carried a message overlapping with former President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again and Stop the Steal movements.
Alito’s Response to Criticism
Alito wrote in the New York Times that he “had no involvement whatsoever in flying the flag.” Moreover, his wife “briefly placed [the flag] in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.”
Thomas’s Explanation
For his part, Thomas has stated that due to the personal nature of the friendship between him and the donor of undisclosed gifts, he did not believe he needed to disclose them. He said of a 2019 trip to Indonesia that he was “advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable.”
Calls for Recusal
Although there is technically no enforceable ethics code violation in these actions, some lawmakers have called on the two justices to recuse themselves from cases related to President Trump, the Presidential Immunity case, and further actions on Trump regarding pending trials.
Response to Controversial Rulings
Biden’s proposed changes were in reaction to the barrage of bad press this year and the unpopular and controversial rulings decided by the conservative court. Trump appointed three of the nine justices, including Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
Public Opinion and Court’s Fairness
Biden said, “These scandals involving the justices have caused public opinion to question the court’s fairness and independence, which are essential to carrying out its mission of equal justice under the law.”
Consideration for a Constitutional Amendment
The President is also considering supporting a constitutional amendment to restrict the broad immunity currently granted to the President. On July 1, the conservative court ruled that the office of the President carries broad immunity protections from prosecution for activities undertaken in that office.
