7/29/2024
Washington, D.C. – On July 29, 2024 the Biden – Harris Administration released a statement calling for fundamental changes to the United States Supreme Court. The three core items addressed in the statement, linked below, are 1. No Immunity for Crimes a Former President Committed in Office 2. Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices 3. Binding Code of Conduct for the Supreme Court.
Article III of the US Constitution specifies that “[t]he judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behaviour.” This has been interpreted as meaning they serve a lifetime appointment. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee speaks to the matter here. A change to the length of service of the Justices would therefore require a constitutional amendment. The US Supreme Court addresses on their website that lifetime appointments are “Members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President subject to the approval of the Senate. To ensure an independent Judiciary and to protect judges from partisan pressures, the Constitution provides that judges serve during “good Behaviour,” which has generally meant life terms. To further assure their independence, the Constitution provides that judges’ salaries may not be diminished while they are in office.”
Supreme Court Justices can be subject to impeachment through the same process as a President, Vice President, or other civil officer. The power for impeachment is split between the House and Senate, where the House has the sole power of impeachment and the Senate has the sole power to try impeachments. This means that if deemed appropriate there is already a mechanism for trying and removing a Justice established in the constitution.
Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson released a statement addressing the proposal:
“President Biden’s proposal to radically overhaul the U.S. Supreme Court would tilt the balance of power and erode not only the rule of law, but the American people’s faith in our system of justice.
“This proposal is the logical conclusion to the Biden-Harris Administration and Congressional Democrats’ ongoing efforts to delegitimize the Supreme Court. Their calls to expand and pack the Court will soon resume.
“It is telling that Democrats want to change the system that has guided our nation since its founding simply because they disagree with some of the Court’s recent decisions. This dangerous gambit of the Biden-Harris Administration is dead on arrival in the House.”
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