In a Washington Post Op-Ed his week, President Biden called for three reforms to restore trust and accountability to the Supreme Court and our democracy. I want you to support all of them, because I do. Strongly.
First, President Biden called for a constitutional amendment called the No One Is the Above the Law Amendment. It would make clear that there is no immunity for crimes a former president committed while in office. As President Biden said, we are a nation of laws — not of kings or dictators. Representative Joe Morelle has introduced just such a constitutional amendment in the House. Good! Every lawmaker should sign on.
Second, we have had term limits for presidents for nearly 75 years. We should have the same for Supreme Court justices. The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to its high court. Term limits would help ensure that the court’s membership changes with some regularity. That would make timing for court nominations more predictable and less arbitrary. It would reduce the chance that any single presidency radically alters the makeup of the court for generations to come. President Biden suggested a system in which the president would appoint a justice every two years to spend 18 years in active service on the Supreme Court. I support this!
Third, President Biden called for a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court. This is common sense and so overdue! The court’s current voluntary ethics code is weak and self-enforced. Justices should be required to disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest. Every other federal judge is bound by an enforceable code of conduct, and there is no reason for the Supreme Court to be exempt.
I will be watching closely to see if you come out in support of these three efforts. I hope you do. Court reform is a top issue for me and I will always vote for the lawmaker who supports and fights for it over one who doesn’t. Thanks.
