From former presidential speechwriter David Litt:
“The good news is that this grim arrangement [of interminable Supreme Court tenures] can be ended, and it doesn’t require a constitutional amendment to do it.
“Congress can pass a version of term limits for justices without running afoul of Article III. Gabe Roth, founder of the nonpartisan group Fix the Court, points out that nothing in the nation’s founding documents says where judges have to serve.
“Roth thinks Congress could pass a law declaring that one Supreme Court justice will be nominated every two years; at the end of an 18-year term, he or she would remain on the federal bench but would be rotated to a lower court, making way for a replacement.
“This would guarantee each president the chance to appoint the same number of Supreme Court justices. At the same time, by limiting justices to 18-year terms, presidents would feel more free to choose the nominee they think would best serve the American people’s interest, rather than going with whoever is youngest and in the best health.”
Read the full op-ed here.