A bipartisan think-tank has recently endorsed our plan for an 18-year term limit for future Supreme Court justices.
In a report titled “The Supreme Court: Depoliticizing the Judiciary,” the Washington, D.C.-based New Center backs the FTC proposal to bypass the constitutional amendment process and instead implement term through ordinary legislation.
The report also notes that a fixed term “would allow for a predictable appointment schedule: a president would appoint one justice in the first year and one in the third year of a term. Judges would not feel pressure to delay retirement until a politically opportune moment strikes.”
With confirmation votes more polarized than ever, they write, regularized appointments would both remove the incentives for judicial politicking and deemphasize the importance in any one particular appointment.
As our proposal for an 18-year term limit for Supreme Court justices continues to gain traction outside the halls of Congress, we hope to see this growing consensus reflected with a bill to be introduced this session.