April 09, 2021
President Biden will today issue an executive order forming the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, comprised of a bipartisan group of experts on the Court and the Court reform debate. In addition to legal and other scholars, the Commissioners includes former federal judges and practitioners who have appeared before the Court, as well as advocates for the reform of democratic institutions and of the administration of justice. The expertise represented on the Commission includes constitutional law, history and political science.
The Commission’s purpose is to provide an analysis of the principal arguments in the contemporary public debate for and against Supreme Court reform, including an appraisal of the merits and legality of particular reform proposals. The topics it will examine include the genesis of the reform debate; the Court’s role in the Constitutional system; the length of service and turnover of justices on the Court; the
White House establishes commission to study the Supreme Court but it won’t make final recommendations for reform
A 36-member commission the White House established to study the US Supreme Court will not make final recommendations for reform, according to details released Friday, a possible letdown for liberals hoping for President Joe Biden to push for more justices on the bench.
The long-awaited commission announcement developed from a pledge Biden made as a candidate last October, as liberals were calling for additional seats to be added to America’s high court, to try to bring greater balance to a bench dominated 6-3 by conservatives poised to continue its right turn on abortion rights, religious liberty and voting restrictions.
Biden unveils commission to study possible expansion of Supreme Court
Tyler Pager, The Washington Post
April 9, 2021
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WASHINGTON -President Joe Biden created a bipartisan commission Friday to study structural changes to the Supreme Court, giving the group 180 days to produce a report on a range of thorny topics including court expansion and term limits.
The commission, composed of 36 legal scholars, former federal judges and practicing lawyers, fulfills Biden s campaign promise to establish such a group after activists pushed him to back expanding the court following Republicans rush to confirm Justice Amy Coney Barrett shortly before last year s election. Biden has said he is not a fan of adding seats to the Supreme Court, but he has declined to say whether he supports any other changes to its structure.
The campaign comes after Justice Breyer, appointed by former President Clinton, poured cold water on progressives’ calls to expand the Supreme Court earlier this week, saying it would erode trust and make the court appear political. Liberals have urged Democrats to put new justices on the bench to counter the conservative 6-3 majority.
“Stephen Breyer‘s retirement is infrastructure and we need it urgently,” said Brian Fallon, executive director of Demand Justice, playing off Democrats’ push for an infrastructure bill this month.
Justice Breyer is the oldest jurist on the high court, at 82 years old, and has served since 2004.
Retirement announcements usually come at the end of the Court‘s term, which typically ends in June.
Demand Justice, an advocacy group led by a former top aide to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer
The group launched its effort Friday and wants Breyer, 82, to step down so that President Biden
“We are now firmly in the window when past justices have announced their retirement, so it s officially worrisome that Justice Breyer has not said yet that he will step down. The only responsible choice for Justice Breyer is to immediately announce his retirement so President Biden can quickly nominate the first-ever Black woman Supreme Court justice,” said Brian Fallon, the executive director of Demand Justice and a former top aide to Schumer.