By Ashlee Banks
Special to the AFRO
President Joe Biden has revealed his plan to reform the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to restore balance and fairness to the court.
Credit: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
The Democratic leader is proposing a “No One is Above the Law Amendment” which will ensure that U.S. presidents are not immune from prosecution for committing crimes while in office.
Biden is also seeking term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices, contending that the U.S. is the only major constitutional democracy that has given lifetime appointments to justices. He believes Supreme Court judges should be appointed every two years to lessen the chance of a single president being able to appoint several justices to the court, like in the case of former President Donald Trump, who was able to appoint three Supreme Court justices to the bench during his one term in office.
Lastly, the president would like for justices to adopt a binding code of conduct to help restore trust and accountability to the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.-4) told the AFRO that he supports Biden’s U.S. Supreme Court reform plan.
“Without a binding and enforceable code of conduct and with lifetime tenure, a power grabbing Supreme Court– while becoming corrupt and unaccountable– has upset the delicate system of checks and balances upon which our democracy rests,” said Johnson. “I look forward to working with the White House to enact meaningful court reform now…to restore trust and faith in our judiciary.”
U.S. Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas-4) told the AFRO that Biden’s plan includes “common-sense” and “necessary reforms” to the court to protect the civil rights of all U.S. citizens.
“With term limits for the justices, an ethics code and a constitutional amendment limiting presidential immunity, we can ensure the Court is balanced and not corrupted by billionaires and extremists,” said Casar.
The Texas lawmaker added, “Americans deserve a Supreme Court that protects the law and our freedoms, rather than dismantling our rights and liberties at the behest of corporations and extremists.”
On the Contrary, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express his opposition to Biden’s U.S. Supreme Court reform plan.
“ lawlessness by undermining SCOTUS,” said Lee.
The Republican lawmaker added, “Biden wants to pack the Supreme Court. His recent proposal is a thinly veiled effort to do that. Packing the Supreme Court would irreparably undermine the independence of the federal courts.”
Biden’s proposed U.S. Supreme Court reform plan comes after several ethical scandals have rocked the court and revealed that several justices have engaged in misconduct. Within the past year, investigations have shown that Chief Justice John Roberts’ wife raked in millions of dollars for assisting high-ranking lawyers who then later had their cases heard before the high court. Justice Clarence Thomas has also come under fire for failing to disclose that he received lavish gifts from a wealthy GOP donor for decades. The justices’ actions have caused some Americans to lose faith in the majority-conservative court.
Biden has also proposed his plan to reform the court after Supreme Court justices handed down a verdict in Trump’s immunity case that shields presidents from prosecution for official acts.
Rep. Johnson stated that “President Biden recognizes the grave danger caused by the Supreme Court’s decision granting near absolute immunity to future presidents.”
He added, “No one is above the law, including the president or justices of the Supreme Court.”
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris released a statement saying that they look forward to partnering with Congress to pass legislation to reform the court.
The Biden-Harris administration also hopes to empower “the American people to prevent the abuse of Presidential power, restore faith in the Supreme Court, and strengthen the guardrails of democracy.”
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