Mastodawn

Nonilex Sep 26, 2024

Sweeping bill to overhaul #SCOTUS would add 6 justices
 The legislation by Sen #RonWyden (D-OR) is one of the most ambitious efforts to date to remake the #SupremeCourt following
controversies over rulings & #ethics.  A sweeping bill introduced by a Democratic senator Wednesday would greatly increase the size of the Supreme Court, make it harder for the justices to overturn #laws, require justices to undergo #audits & remove roadblocks for high court #nominations.

#law
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/26/supreme-court-reform-15-justices-wyden/

Sweeping bill to overhaul Supreme Court would add six justices

The legislation by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is one of the most ambitious efforts to date to remake the Supreme Court following controversies over rulings and ethics.

The Washington Post

Nonilex Sep 26, 2024

The legislation by Sen #RonWyden (D-OR) is one of the most ambitious proposals to remake a high court that has suffered a sharp decline in its public approval after a string of contentious decisions & #ethics scandals in recent years. It has little chance of passing at the moment, since #Republicans have generally opposed efforts to overhaul the court.

Nonilex Sep 26, 2024

#RonWyden …said the goal of the bill is to restore public confidence in a battered institution. He said he hopes to get parts of the bill passed, even if the whole package is not embraced by lawmakers.
 “It’s not an atomic secret that the process for selecting justices is politicized,” #Wyden said. “You’ve got this thoroughly politicized process resulting in a #SupremeCourt that now frequently issues sweeping rulings to overturn laws & upend precedents.”

#law #SCOTUS #ethics #JudicialEthics

“We are proposing a way to restore some balance between the 3 branches of government,” Sen #RonWyden added.

The bill’s most significant measure would increase the number of justices from 9 to 15 over the course of 12 years. The staggered format over 2 or 3 administrations is aimed at diminishing the chance that one #political party would pack the courts with its nominees.

#law #SCOTUS #ethics #JudicialEthics

Link to bill, summary & full text:

https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-introduces-sweeping-court-reforms-to-restore-public-trust-as-supreme-court-faces-legitimacy-crisis

Wyden Introduces Sweeping Court Reforms to Restore Public Trust as Supreme Court Faces Legitimacy Crisis | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon

The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon

Nonilex Sep 26, 2024

During the rollout, each president would approve justices in the first & third year of their terms.
 The bill would also require a ruling by ⅔ of the high court & the circuit courts of appeals, rather than a simple majority, to overturn a #law passed by #Congress. #Wyden said the current court has been too quick to discard #precedent & curtail #rights by narrow majorities.

#SCOTUS #ethics #JudicialEthics #Judiciary #JudicialReform #CourtReform #SCOTUSreform #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol

Nonilex Sep 26, 2024

The #legislation would also require #SCOTUS nominees to be automatically scheduled for a vote in the #Senate if their nominations have lingered in committee for >180 days.
 The measure would prevent senators from blocking a president’s nominees by refusing to hold a vote on them, as then-Senate Majority Leader #MitchMcConnell (R-KY) did after President Barack #Obama’s nomination of #MerrickGarland in 2016.

#law #ethics #JudicialEthics #SCOTUSreform #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol

Nonilex Sep 26, 2024

#MitchMcConnell held open the seat that had been occupied by Justice #AntoninScalia, a #conservative, until #Trump became president. Trump put forward Neil M. #Gorsuch. 
McConnell said #MerrickGarland’s nomination came too close to the 2016 presidential election, but he later helped push through the nomination of #AmyConeyBarrett [less than 1 month prior to the 2020 election]…, after the death of Justice #RuthBaderGinsburg, a *#liberal*.

#law #ethics #SCOTUS #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol

Nonilex Sep 26, 2024

[#MitchMcConnell’s maneuvering]…helped create the #conservative supermajority that now dominates the court.
 Another provision in #RonWyden’s bill would expand the number of federal #judicial circuits from 13 to 15, adding >100 district court #judges & >60 appellate-level judges.

#SCOTUS justices must report income, dividends, property sales & gifts, among other things, but the bill would bolster financial checks, disclosures & other transparency measures.

#law #ethics #ActivistCourt #USpol

Nonilex Sep 26, 2024

It would require the #IRS to initiate an #audit of the justices’ tax returns each year, release the results & make the tax filings public. Nominees to the court would have to disclose 3 yrs of tax returns.

Another measure would allow a two-thirds vote of the court to force a fellow justice to #recuse from a case.

#law #SCOTUS #ethics #JudicialEthics #Judiciary #JudicialReform #CourtReform #SCOTUSreform #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol

Nonilex Sep 26, 2024

Each justice would be required to publicly release their opinions & disclose how they voted on issues considered on an emergency basis, sometimes referred to as the #ShadowDocket. Such decisions, which have become more common & increasingly controversial in recent years, don’t identify how each justice voted.

#law #SCOTUS #ethics #JudicialEthics #Judiciary #JudicialReform #CourtReform #SCOTUSreform #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #USpol

Aviva Gary Sep 26, 2024

@Nonilex This is good but I can't find where he addressed life time appointments... or am I just dense lol 👀

Nonilex Sep 26, 2024

You are not dense at all 🤓🧐

I couldn’t find term limits addressed anywhere in the bill.

Aviva Gary Sep 26, 2024

@Nonilex interesting... interesting indeed 🤔

𝓐𝓷𝓭𝔂𝓣𝓲𝓮𝓭𝔂𝓮 𓀤 Sep 27, 2024

@Nonilex @Aviva_Gary Term limits would require a Constitutional amendment.

noplasticshower Sep 26, 2024

@Nonilex the Supreme Court is illegitimate

Nemo Sep 27, 2024

Would this change matter? What if the vote was scheduled? Wouldn't the Republican majority just vote no ad nauseum?