HYPOTHETICAL about SCOTUS judges

[MoonRiver]

If, I mean when, we take over the presidency and Senate, can our Democratic president add more than 9 judges to SCOTUS. I know FDR did this, but am not sure if the practice has been disallowed since then. Just asking, because either Rump or Pence will be in control for 4 years, and odds are pretty high that one or two more SCOTUS positions will become open. And that will mean we have a very right wing judiciary for a generation.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

1. From Wikipedia...

Since it was tried and failed with FDR I think it's a no go. Great idea tho.


Size of the Court Edit

Article III of the United States Constitution does not specify the number of justices. The Judiciary Act of 1789 called for the appointment of six justices, and as the nation's boundaries grew, Congress added justices to correspond with the growing number of judicial circuits: seven in 1807, nine in 1837, and ten in 1863.

In 1866, at the behest of Chief Justice Chase, Congress passed an act providing that the next three justices to retire would not be replaced, which would thin the bench to seven justices by attrition. Consequently, one seat was removed in 1866 and a second in 1867. In 1869, however, the Circuit Judges Act returned the number of justices to nine,[68] where it has since remained.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to expand the Court in 1937. His proposal envisioned appointment of one additional justice for each incumbent justice who reached the age of 70 years 6 months and refused retirement, up to a maximum bench of 15 justices. The proposal was ostensibly to ease the burden of the docket on elderly judges, but the actual purpose was widely understood as an effort to pack the Court with justices who would support Roosevelt's New Deal.[69] The plan, usually called the "Court-packing Plan", failed in Congress.[70] Nevertheless, the Court's balance began to shift within months when Justice van Devanter retired and was replaced by Senator Hugo Black. By the end of 1941, Roosevelt had appointed seven justices and elevated Harlan Fiske Stone to Chief Justice.[71]

[MoonRiver]

2. So, I'm still not sure whether we could expand the court to balance things out better.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

3. I edited my original comment to add...

my own comment. I forgot. I think it's a no go. They tried with FDR. Great idea tho

[MoonRiver]

4. Maybe time to try again, especially if we also take the House.

Seems that nothing in the Constitution prohibits it, unless I'm missing something (VERY possible, lol).

[jberryhill]

5. Yes, the size of the court is not specified in the Constitution

And, yes, it can be changed by legislation.

It has not always been nine, either. It started out as six.

[MoonRiver]

6. Thanks. I do believe, if possible, we may have to do this, to protect our nation against fascism.

As I said, IF possible.

[MichMary]

7. If it's as easy as that

what would stop Trump from exanding it now? Be careful what you wish for . . .

[MoonRiver]

8. He doesn't have to take that step. Also, I do not know how easy it is to do.

The purpose of my OP is to explore that option.

[MichMary]

9. To ensure a conservative majority on the court

for a generation, he could expand the number of justices to 12, maybe 15. Then, when he's gone, what would the Ds do? Expand it to 25 or 30? At some point it would just get ridiculous.

Things like this can seriously come back to bite us in the ass.

I remember the cheering when Harry Reid eliminated the filibuster for appointees. I wasn't so sure that was a great idea, in spite of being told that we had a permanent Senate majority, and would never, ever, ever lose the Presidency. Well, what do you think of AG Sessions, or Secretary DeVos?