Biden publicizes plans for Supreme Court docket time period limits and no immunity for former presidents
President Biden will announce a bold plan to reform the Supreme Court, including term limits for Supreme Court justices and the elimination of immunity for crimes committed by a former president while in office.
What is Biden's plan to reform the Supreme Court?
According to a White House fact sheet obtained by PoliticusUSA:
No immunity for crimes committed by a former president during his term in office: President Biden shares the Founding Fathers' belief that presidential power is limited – not absolute – and must ultimately rest with the people. He is calling for a constitutional amendment that makes clear that no president is above the law or immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office. This amendment, which makes clear that no one is above the law, will state that the Constitution does not grant immunity from charge, trial, conviction, or sentence in federal courts simply because one was previously president.
Term limits for Supreme Court justices: Congress passed term limits for the presidency over 75 years ago, and President Biden believes the same should apply to the Supreme Court. The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that grants its Supreme Court justices lifetime terms. Term limits would help ensure that the court's membership rotates with some regularity; make the timing of appointments to the court more predictable and less arbitrary; and reduce the likelihood that a single presidency will exert undue influence for generations. President Biden supports a system in which the president appoints a justice every two years to serve on the Supreme Court for 18 years.
Mandatory Code of Conduct for the Supreme Court: President Biden believes Congress should pass mandatory, enforceable rules of conduct and ethics requiring judges 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. Supreme Court justices should not be exempt from the enforceable code of conduct that applies to all other federal judges.
Biden: No one is above the law
The president wrote in an opinion piece: “I served as a U.S. Senator for 36 years, including as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee. As Senator, Vice President, and President, I oversaw more Supreme Court nominations than anyone alive today. I have great respect for our institutions and the separation of powers. What is happening now is not normal and undermines public confidence in the Court's decisions, including those affecting personal liberties. We are now in a breach.”
The plan will not be passed before Biden leaves office, but it is an important development because it has the support of Vice President Harris. If Democrats win the 2024 election, the plan could serve as a blueprint for Supreme Court reform.
President Biden leaves office in less than six months, but he continues to work for the American people. Supreme Court reform is critical to the future of American democracy. In the American system, no one can ever be above the law, and Joe Biden is showing Democrats a path to ensure that power stays with the people.
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