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A group of House Democrats hope to pass a bill that would enact term limits for Supreme Court justices.
Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia introduced theSupreme Court Tenure Establishment and Retirement Modernization Act(or TERM Act), describing it as necessary to address a “legitimacy crisis” the court is “increasingly facing.”
The bill was introduced a month after theSupreme Court overturnedRoe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision of 1973 that granted women the right to an abortion in every state, in a 6-3 ruling thatprompted protestsaround the country.
The TERM Act would create something of a revolving door for the court. Long-serving justices would be bumped as new appointees are seated on the bench, but kept on retainer in case a vacancy opens up.
Under the proposed legislation, a president would be authorized to nominate a Supreme Court justice in the first and third years after a presidential election. In theory, a confirmed nominee could join the court every two years for a maximum of 18 years of regular active service.
Protestors outside the Supreme Court.Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty
After that, the bill would require current justices to “assume senior status.”
Justices who’ve served the longest would also be required to assume senior status as regularly appointed justices receive their commissions, the announcement indicates.
If a justice steps down, dies, is disqualified, or must leave the bench for another reason that would cause the number of justices in active service to fall below nine, “the Supreme Court justice who most recently assumed senior status [will] fill in on the Court,” according to the release.
Reps. Jerry Adler of New York, Sheila Jackson of Texas, Steve Cohen of Tennessee and California Reps. Karen Bass and Ro Khanna are co-sponsors of the bill.
Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is introducing the legislation in the Senate.
“With all the harmful and out-of-touch rulings from the Supreme Court this last year, legislation creating 18-year terms for justices is essential,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said in a statement.
“Otherwise, we will be left with backwards-looking majority for a generation or more,” Nadler continued. “Instead, under this bill, each President would be entitled to appoint two justices. We would begin to see a Court that better represents this nation and that better reflects the public whose rights it is responsible for protecting.”
source: people.com
