Letters to the Editor: Want to reform the Supreme Court? Enlarge it, now
To the editor: In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s runaway behavior, including overturning long-held precedent and creating a presidential “immunity” doctrine out of whole cloth, President Biden has come out in support of three reform proposals. But none of them has any chance of succeeding.
Our country is too polarized for any constitutional amendment to be ratified, and some of Biden’s proposals would require ultimate court approval. Even if Democrats win the presidency and Congress in November, I submit that Biden’s reforms are not the way to go.
The only potentially viable way to achieve reform is for Congress to pass a law increasing the size of the court to 13 justices. From the beginning of the court, its size was set by legislative action, and Congress has adjusted the number of justices several times.
There is nothing in the Constitution, or the history of the creation of our form of government, that suggests any entity other than Congress has the authority to establish and alter the size of the court.
So, Democrats should proceed with enlarging the court within the first 100 days after Kamala Harris is sworn in as president.
Loren Mark, Eagle Rock
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To the editor: For the decades that the Supreme Court was a liberal activist court, progressives were just fine with it. Now that it leans right, progressives seek to delegitimize and “reform” it.
This is just another example of the left trying to destroy anything that might hamper its radical agenda.
PJ Gendell, Beverly Hills
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To the editor: If 18-year terms were to be approved for the Supreme Court, with one appointment every two years beginning in 2026, every member now on the court would have served at least 19 years by the time their turn came up. So I can’t see any reason why the current members shouldn’t be subject to this, if it were to pass.
And I really hope it does. The court is broken now. I have lost trust in its ability to make judgments based solely on the law, without regard to politics.
Diane Scholfield, Vista
