WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden proposed big changes to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday: enforceable rules, term limits for justices and a constitutional amendment that would limit the justices’ recent decision on presidential immunity.
With Election Day approaching, the proposal is unlikely to pass a closely divided Congress, but the ideas could spark a conversation about public confidence in the court. All time low Amid ethical revelations about certain judges. It also comes against the backdrop of a contentious presidential election and Democratic outrage over recent decisions by the conservative-majority court.
Here’s a look at the ideas, how they might work, and potential pitfalls:
How will the terms of the judges be defined?
Limiting how long justices serve on the nation’s highest court has broad support among Americans, polls indicate.
A poll from Associated Press-NORC Center A July 2022 Public Affairs Survey found that 67% of Americans support a proposal to set judges to a fixed number of years instead of life terms, including 82% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans.
Biden’s proposal would limit justices to 18-year terms, he says, making nominations more predictable and less arbitrary and reducing the chances of a single president shaping the court for generations.
There’s one big problem: The Constitution grants life tenure to all federal judges, unless they resign, retire or are removed.
There are ideas about how to impose term limits without an amendment — but if such a law were passed and challenged in court, the justices could end up ruling on it, and it’s unclear how they would go down, said Charles Keigh, a law professor. Indiana University and expert in judicial ethics.
How will the protocols be implemented?
There is no formal code of conduct in the Supreme Court Until last year, judges accepted one It faced persistent criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts given by wealthy individuals to some justices, such as Clarence Thomas.
It doesn’t yet have enforcement mechanisms — something Biden says is “common sense.” For example, members of Congress generally cannot accept gifts worth more than $50.
Anyone can file a complaint against other federal judges who are subject to censure and censure. Judge Elena Kagan He voiced his support The Supreme Court added an enforcement mechanism to the code of conduct in a public appearance last week.
However, the high court’s implementation of ethical norms raises thorny questions about how it might be enforced and by whom.
Lower courts say their disciplinary process isn’t intended to directly regulate their code of ethics, maintaining a phrase so broad that violations don’t translate directly into discipline, Geyh said.
That code of conduct is overseen by the Judicial Conference headed by Chief Justice John Roberts. Stephen Gillers, a legal ethics expert at NYU School of Law, said in an email that “he may be reluctant to use any of the convention’s powers against his colleagues.”
What about presidential immunity?
Biden has also called for a constitutional amendment that would limit a recent Supreme Court ruling that gives former President Donald Trump — and all other presidents — broad immunity from criminal prosecution.
The amendment would “clarify that there is no immunity for crimes committed by former presidents while in office,” Biden wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post. “We are a nation of laws – not kings or dictators.”
It wouldn’t be the first time — the Constitution has been amended five times in U.S. history to overturn a Supreme Court ruling, Keigh said.
But constitutional amendments are more restrictive than new laws. The proposal must receive two-thirds support in both the House and Senate, and then be approved by three-quarters of the state legislatures.
No new amendments have been passed in over 30 years. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson called Biden’s proposal a “dangerous gamble” that would “die on the floor.”
Biden has resisted other calls to reform the Supreme Court
Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has long resisted calls to reform the Supreme Court.
In 2021, he fulfilled a campaign promise Convening a commission d o Study possible changes in court. It was not accused of making recommendations and warned that too much change could distort democracy.
The latest proposals come years later, and amid growing outrage among Democrats over high court opinions that overturned key decisions on abortion rights and federal regulatory powers. The presidential election against Trump is also in full swing.
Even if Biden’s ideas don’t pan out, they’ll grab voters’ attention. Vice President Kamala Harris, who endorsed Biden for president after dropping out of the race, supported the plan.
However, it is being blasted by conservatives like activist Leonard Leo, who said in a statement: “This is about Democrats destroying a court they don’t agree with.”
