Balancing the Supreme Court with a new Chief Justice.

[Wiz Imp]

94. How do you know they didn't try to change minds?

In fact, there were far more Democrats supporting it in 2024 than just 2 years earlier. Likewise, the legislation reintroduced in 2023 got far more support than it did initially in 2021. But Manchin and Sinema were never going to change their minds and without them - passage of court expansion was impossible.

To be honest, imposing term limits on Supreme Court justices would be much easier to pass. No, it would not solve all the problems that court expansion would, but it would be a huge improvement over the status quo. Even a majority of Republicans favor term limits.

https://www.axios.com/2024/09/13/supreme-court-term-limits-ethics
Most Americans back term limits for Supreme Court: poll

Breaking it down: 69% of people in the Annenberg survey support a mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court justices, and 68% endorse term limits for the justices.

President Biden recently endorsed term limits, under pressure from his party's more liberal wing.
Such a system would give each president the ability to appoint two new justices, so the ideological makeup of the court would track more closely with voters' electoral preferences.

https://apnorc.org/ap-norc-poll-2-in-3-in-us-favor-term-limits-for-justices/
AP-NORC poll: 2 in 3 in US favor term limits for justices

WASHINGTON (AP) — About 2 in 3 Americans say they favor term limits or a mandatory retirement age for Supreme Court justices, according to a new poll that finds a sharp increase in the percentage of Americans saying they have “hardly any” confidence in the court.

The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 67% of Americans support a proposal to set a specific number of years that justices serve instead of life terms, including 82% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans. Views are similar about a requirement that justices retire by a specific age.

https://www.judges.org/news-and-info/many-judges-support-term-limits-for-scotus-but-its-complicated/
Many judges support term limits for SCOTUS, but it’s complicated

Ask judges if they think there should be term limits for justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and you get strong and widely varying opinions.

We know because our Question of the Month* emailed to NJC alumni in November asked, “Do you support the concept of an 18-year term limit for justices of the Supreme Court of the United States?”

The final tally: 399 judges voted, and approval of the 18-year term limit won 57.5 percent to 42.5. percent.

The question asked about an 18-year term because in October, a bipartisan group of legal experts, which included a federal appeals court judge and a former U.S. solicitor general, endorsed that term length. The group called the proposal a “vital reform” that would reduce partisanship and improve the judiciary’s overall reputation.