Abortion Argument Within (f/k/a Biden to propose SCOTUS reform)

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“… Biden is likely to endorse establishing term limits for justices and an enforceable code of ethics, in an announcement that represents a remarkable shift for a president who had long resisted calls to overhaul the high court.

… He is also expected to push for a constitutional amendment limiting immunity for presidents and certain other officeholders, in a response to the court’s July 1 ruling that presidents are shielded from prosecution for “official acts” during their time in office, in a case brought by former President Donald Trump.

The specifics of the proposal remain unclear and could still change, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal planning.

Biden is expected to call for the overhaul during a trip to Texas, where he’s set to speak at the Lyndon Baines Johnson presidential library in Austin. …”
 
Election 2020 Hello GIF by Joe Biden
 
Not enough. Either term limits need to be immediately applicable (that would be OK) or the court needs to be expanded. Thomas, Gorsuch and Alito cannot be in power any longer. They have abused the public trust, and Roberts has aided and abetted them most of the way.
 
superrific said:
Not enough. Either term limits need to be immediately applicable (that would be OK) or the court needs to be expanded. Thomas, Gorsuch and Alito cannot be in power any longer. They have abused the public trust, and Roberts has aided and abetted them most of the way.
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Just curious, what would be your recommendation for term limits? 10 years? 20?
 
Stake out a bargaining position and have a fallback position. No way the GOP will ever accept to term limits with a much-sought majority in place and possibly locking in that majority in a Trump Presidency for years to come.
 
Zoo_View said:
Won’t pass the House; likely won’t come up for a vote; doubt it sees the light of day.

Similar in the Senate.
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I’d love to see 25 justices. Term limit justices and Federal judges. Adjust the terms to fit the rotating schedule.
  • POTUS 2029-2033 - nominates eight justices who are term-limited; two per year; each justice serves 12 years. If the Senate sits on a nomination, after X months, the nominee is a Justice. If the POTUS term is ending, the Justice nominee is automatically confirmed.
  • POTUS 2033-2037 - repeat
  • POTUS 2037-2041 - repeat
  • POTUS 2041-2045 - repeat
The 25th justice is the Chief Justice. If he/she is elevated from being a justice, his/her seat is filled by a justice from the other party. A Chief Justice doesn’t have to first be a Justice. Chief Justice serves 6 years and is gone.

I’m not wedded to this…..SCOTUS needs term limits because they currently can be in office for life. SCOTUS needs some sort of rotational appointment calendar.
 
Ddseddse said:
If we’re doing constitutional amendments, can we please enshrine the reversal of Citizens United via the same or a separate constitutional amendment?

I think we all, Democrats & Republicans alike realize they everything in America get better day one after that amendment gets passed.
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A constitutional amendment will never get passed in this environment.

The point is to make Pubs cast a vote on presidential immunity. Then we get to expose the cultists. Maybe some of them will walk the walk about democracy, though surely it won't be many. If we load it up with other provisions, then that gives them an excuse to vote against it.
 
HeelInTheOzarks said:
Just curious, what would be your recommendation for term limits? 10 years? 20?
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Generally, I think legal scholars have coalesced around 18 years in staggered terms. So every two years, a seat comes free and gets appointed. It will remove the randomness from the process (i.e. when justices die suddenly) and the gamesmanship from the justices (i.e. retiring when a sympathetic president is in office).

I don't think there is anything like a consensus, but most folks I know like this plan. They might like other ideas better, but I think this would win a ranked choice vote.
 
Zoo_View said:
I’d love to see 25 justices. Term limit justices and Federal judges. Adjust the terms to fit the rotating schedule.
  • POTUS 2029-2033 - nominates eight justices who are term-limited; two per year; each justice serves 12 years. If the Senate sits on a nomination, after X months, the nominee is a Justice. If the POTUS term is ending, the Justice nominee is automatically confirmed.
  • POTUS 2033-2037 - repeat
  • POTUS 2037-2041 - repeat
  • POTUS 2041-2045 - repeat
The 25th justice is the Chief Justice. If he/she is elevated from being a justice, his/her seat is filled by a justice from the other party. A Chief Justice doesn’t have to first be a Justice. Chief Justice serves 6 years and is gone.

I’m not wedded to this…..SCOTUS needs term limits because they currently can be in office for life. SCOTUS needs some sort of rotational appointment calendar.
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why 25 justices? do you want them all to hear each case, or are you envisioning something like an appeals court where there's a panel of justices selected from the larger pool.

I'm not a fan of either idea. 25 justices would be unwieldy, and since they love to write concurrences and dissents, the opinions would become ridiculously long. Oral arguments would be hell.

If you went with the panel approach, then there will be a lot of randomness like in appeals courts, where cases are often decided basically by the random dice roll that determines which judges are on which panel.
 
superrific said:
Generally, I think legal scholars have coalesced around 18 years in staggered terms. So every two years, a seat comes free and gets appointed. It will remove the randomness from the process (i.e. when justices die suddenly) and the gamesmanship from the justices (i.e. retiring when a sympathetic president is in office).

I don't think there is anything like a consensus, but most folks I know like this plan. They might like other ideas better, but I think this would win a ranked choice vote.
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That’s a good idea. I do agree that every presidential term should get to appoint at least one justice to stop the old folks just hanging on and trying to outlast the other party’s president. That is truly the worst.
 
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