'They need to be checked': Historian makes case for expanding SCOTUS
Despite his frustration with some of the rulings that have come from the U.S. Supreme Court in recent years — from Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization to Trump v. the United States — President Joe Biden has voiced his opposition to increasing the number of justices. Biden, during an interview with Cincinnati's WKRC, said he is "not a fan of court-packing."
But historian Holly Brewer, in an article published by The New Republic on July 9, argues that the High Court is causing so much "chaos" that expanding it is the only logical thing to do.
"Over the past two decades, and especially since 2021, the Roberts Court has…. made headlines, overturning federal and state laws, some of them in place for 100 years or more, and reversing earlier major Court decisions," Brewer laments. "The Court has upended the ability of government agencies to do their jobs, to regulate clean air and water, limit the taking of bribes — by this Court now redefined as 'gratuities' — protect consumers and workers, and so much more."
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Brewer, who teaches at the University of Maryland, continues, "It has redefined human rights, undercutting the right to vote and the right to an abortion. In conversations with law professors across their country, I hear despair: How are they even supposed to teach administrative or constitutional law? There are no standards anymore."
There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution stating that the High Court has to have nine justices, and Congress is free to increase or decrease the number of justices by amending the Judiciary Act of 1869.
During the 1930s, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt — frustrated with Supreme Court decisions that undermined his New Deal — proposed increasing the number of justices. But FDR's proposal never became a reality.
Brewer argues that in light of the Trump v. the United States ruling, expanding the Court is the only way to prevent it from inflicting more damage.
"Most importantly, the majority on the Court has revealed, in the principled emptiness of its decision in Trump v. U.S. (not to mention others in the past few weeks), that it is openly partisan. The Roberts Court, and the three Trump justices, have created chaos throughout our justice system and society, and undermined the Court's legitimacy. They need to be checked."
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Read Holly Brewer's full article for The New Republic at this link.
