President Biden will announce a bold plan to reform the Supreme Court, including term limits for Supreme Court justices and no immunity for crimes committed by former presidents while in office.
What’s included in Biden’s Supreme Court reform plan?
According to a White House fact sheet provided to PoliticusUSA:
Former presidents do not enjoy immunity for crimes committed while in office: President Biden shares the Founding Fathers’ belief that the president’s power is limited — not absolute — and must ultimately belong to the people. He called for a constitutional amendment to make it clear that the president is not above the law and cannot be immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office. This “No One is Above the Law” amendment would provide that the Constitution does not provide immunity from any federal criminal prosecution, trial, conviction, or sentence based on serving as President.
Term limits for Supreme Court justices:Congress approved presidential term limits more than 75 years ago, and President Biden believes they should do the same for the Supreme Court. The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that gives lifetime seats to high court judges. Term limits would help ensure some regularity in the court’s membership; make the timing of court nominations more predictable and less arbitrary; and reduce the likelihood that any single presidential term will exert undue influence on future generations. President Biden supports a system in which the president appoints a justice every two years to serve on the Supreme Court for eighteen years.
Code of conduct binding on the Supreme Court: President Biden believes that Congress should adopt binding, enforceable conduct and ethics rules 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 rules of conduct that apply to all other federal judges.
Biden: No one is above the law
The president wrote in an op-ed, “I served as a U.S. Senator for 36 years, including as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee. I have overseen more Supreme Court nominations as a Senator, Vice President, and President than anyone alive today. I have the utmost respect for our institutions and our powers Separation. What is happening now is abnormal and it undermines public confidence in court decisions, including those that impact individual liberty. We are now at a breaking point.
The plan won’t pass before Biden leaves office, but it’s an important development because it will have the support of Vice President Harris. The plan could serve as a blueprint for Supreme Court reform if Democrats win the 2024 election.
President Biden leaves office in less than six months, but he continues to serve the American people. Supreme Court reform is critical to the future of American democracy. In the American system, no one is above the law, and Joe Biden is charting a path for Democrats to ensure power remains in the hands of the people.
