Would you support a constitutional amendment imposing term limits on future Supreme Court justices?
In July, 2024 President Biden suggested term limits for Supreme Court justices as a possible reform. There is currently no proposed constitutional amendment regarding term limits for future justices. The optional ballot question for the 2024 mock election raises the issue as a hypothetical to foster class discussions regarding the structure and functioning of the Supreme Court and to help students understand some of the current controversy surrounding the Court and its recent decisions. Participation in the issue question is optional, but we hope teachers and students will carefully consider it in addition to assessing the merits of the candidates. The list of included resources is by no means exhaustive, but merely intended as discussion starting points.
The proposal is at the moment in theory for classroom discussion. No constitutional amendment is currently actively proposed. Such an amendment would allow the President to appoint a Justice every two years to actively serve eighteen years on the Supreme Court. After this time, the Justice would have “senior status” and move on to other judicial duties, thus retaining their lifetime appointment “for good behavior”. It would only apply to future Justices, and not the current members of the Supreme Court.
Resources
- President Biden’s proposal (whitehouse.gov)
- The Need For Supreme Court Term Limits (Center for American Progress, posted by Biden administration on whitehouse.gov)
- Pros and Cons of Potential Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices (Columbia Law School)
- The Risks of Supreme Court Limits (abstract, Vanderbilt Law School. For complete short article for advanced students click on the article title in the abstract. Summary report here.)
- Why Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices Makes Sense (Brennan Center for Justice)
- The Arguments Against Setting Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices (NPR)
- Constitution Check: Did the Founders Want Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices? (National Constitution Center, 2015)
- Term Limits – A Way to Tackle the Supreme Court’s Crisis of Legitimacy (Brookings Institution, 2022)
- Term Limits For Supreme Court Justices Would Bring Unexpected Consequences (The Hill)