CONNECTICUT, USA — President Joe Biden is calling for major changes to the U.S. Supreme Court including term limits and a formal ethics code, but there's a slim chance any part of this proposal will get approval while Biden is still in office.
“I'm going to call for Supreme Court reform because this is critical to our democracy,” Biden said during his address from the Oval Office last week.
On Monday, he unveiled his proposal of three major changes he wants to see to the nation's highest court: an 18-year term limit for the court's nine justices, a binding code of conduct and a constitutional amendment guaranteeing no president is immune from criminal prosecution.
“These particular reforms, the term limits and the code of ethics, have certainly come up as of late due to a number of stories, but they're no surprise, they've been discussed for years,” said Wayne Unger, assistant professor of law at Quinnipiac University.
Those discussions have at times been led by federal lawmakers, like Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
“I strongly support these proposals, which mirror my own,” said Blumenthal. “It's an idea whose time has come and in fact, it's long overdue for a court that regards itself apparently as accountable to no one.”
Federal judges at the district and appellate levels must follow a set code of ethics, but SCOTUS does not have one.
So why haven’t these reforms been passed before?
“Only recently have we had great conversations about potentially unethical or allegedly unethical behavior of a small number of the justices of the United States Supreme Court,” Unger explained. “Essentially, a federal judge is in that role for life. It doesn't say for life, but that's how we interpret the clause in the United States Constitution. So as long as they're the term is good behavior, then they're fine to sit on the bench until they retire, take senior status, or they die. So only, again recently, have we had conversations about, well, ‘Is somebody who serves on the United States Supreme Court for 30 years, does that make sense anymore?’”
Biden would need Congressional approval for any changes to take effect, which Blumenthal said he is unlikely to get.
“Realistically, all these ideas begin with a proposal that then builds support and that’s what I think will happen here, but I think it is a very strong beginning to Supreme Court reform that we will pursue over multiple sessions, that’s what it will take,” he said.
Connecticut’s other senator Chris Murphy has also been a big proponent of court reforms as he introduced the Supreme Court Ethics Act last year, but it did not pass.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is likely to win the Democratic nomination for the White House, voiced her support for Biden’s plan, saying changes would “help to restore confidence in the court, strengthen our democracy, and ensure no one is above the law.”
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Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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