President Biden is expected to unveil a bold plan for Supreme Court reform, including eliminating term limits for Supreme Court justices and immunity for former presidents for crimes committed while in office.
What’s in Biden’s Supreme Court reform plan?
According to a White House fact sheet provided to PoliticusUSA:
Former presidents have no immunity for crimes committed while in office: President Biden shares the Founding Fathers’ belief that presidential power is limited, not absolute, and ultimately belongs to the people. He seeks a Constitutional amendment to clarify that the President is not above the law or immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office. The “No Person is Above the Law” amendment would provide that the Constitution does not provide immunity from federal criminal prosecution, trial, conviction, or sentencing by reason of having served as President.
Term limits for Supreme Court justices:Congress approved presidential term limits more than 75 years ago, and President Biden believes Congress should do the same for the Supreme Court. The United States is the only major constitutional democracy that provides lifetime tenure for Supreme Court justices. Term limits would help ensure regular rotation of Supreme Court membership, make the timing of Supreme Court nominations more predictable and less arbitrary, and reduce the potential for a single president to unfairly influence future generations. President Biden supports a system in which the President appoints Supreme Court justices every two years, with them serving on the Supreme Court for 18 years.
Supreme Court Binding Code of Conduct: President Biden believes Congress should pass binding, enforceable codes of conduct and ethics rules that require 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 enforceable codes of conduct that apply to all other federal judges.
Biden: No one is above the law
The president wrote in his op-ed: “I served as a United States Senator for 36 years, including as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee. As a Senator, Vice President and President, I have overseen more Supreme Court nominations than anyone alive today. I have great respect for our nation’s institution and the separation of powers. What is happening today is not normal and undermines public confidence in Supreme Court decisions, including those that affect individual liberties. We are at a crisis point.”
The plan is unlikely to become law before Biden leaves office, but it would be a key move for Vice President Harris to sign off on it, and it could serve as a blueprint for Supreme Court reform if Democrats win the 2024 election.
President Biden will leave office in less than six months but will continue to serve the American people. Supreme Court reform is crucial to the future of American democracy. In our American system, no one is above the law. Joe Biden is charting the way for the Democratic Party to ensure power stays in the hands of the people.
