Commission on Supreme Court Warns Expansion Could Cause More Harm Than Good
While they agreed that court appointments could be fairer and less arbitrary, the commission added that term limits could be destabilizing.
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A commission formed by President Joe Biden to study potential changes to the Supreme Court expressed concerns over calls to expand the size of the court, with some members warning it would “undermine, rather than enhance” its legitimacy, reports the Wall Street Journal. Assessing the merits of term limits for justices, the commission said they could “enhance the Court’s legitimacy in the eyes of the public” and make Supreme Court appointments “appear fairer, less arbitrary, and more predictable.”
But the commission also said term limits could destabilize the court, pointing to the possibility that they “could lead to more frequent doctrinal shifts, or even cycles in which major precedents are discarded only to be reinstated later.” Advocates for expanding the court have said the conservative majority is out of sync with the public and mainstream legal thinking. Term-limit proponents say lifetime appointments keep the court from reflecting the public’s wishes and give some presidents too much sway. Critics say such moves would further politicize an institution that strives to define itself as separate from partisan agendas. It remains unclear whether Biden would endorse any changes in response to the report. During his campaign, Biden said the court system was “getting out of whack” but made no commitments of possible changes he would endorse.
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