Understand more. Argue less.

Good morning. Last Friday, President Biden announced a commission to study the implications of expanding the Supreme Court and creating term limits for new justices. Many conservatives say it’s the beginning of the end for the most crucial non-partisan institution in America. Some Liberals think it’s a whole lot of nothing, while others believe it’s not enough. Let’s break it down.

Did someone forward you this? Subscribe here

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Jenna Gibson

While the Constitution does not specify membership limits for the Supreme Court of the United States (the Court), it has maintained a composition of nine justices since 1869. The most recent attempt to increase the Court's size was in 1937, after President Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) faced several legal blows for his New Deal legislation. While his expansion effort was unsuccessful, it continued the longstanding debate surrounding the Court's selection and composition. 

That debate reached a boiling point again last year. In September, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away suddenly. President Donald Trump nominated and Senate Republicans confirmed Justice Amy Coney Barrett five weeks later, bringing the Court back into the limelight. Democrats claimed that Republicans acted in a hypocritical and overtly partisan fashion, pointing to their refusal to consider former President Obama's nominee until after the 2016 election. Meanwhile, Republicans defended the move, saying that Barrett's confirmation was in line with precedent from prior confirmation processes.

The confirmation of Justice Barrett increased the Court's conservative majority to 6-3. This ignited calls from the Left to increase the number of justices on the Court. Joe Biden addressed the issue on the campaign trail, promising to create a commission to examine reforms for the Court (he hasn't publicly supported expanding it, though). The President delivered on his promise last Friday, signing an executive order to create that bipartisan commission. In response to the President's order, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell claims that Biden's executive order "is a direct assault on our nation's independent judiciary." 

Here's what else you need to know.

The Facts

• Supreme decisions. The Supreme Court makes less than 100 decisions per year, but those rules have a massive impact. The Court has legalized gay marriage, gave corporations protection under the First Amendment, empowered the EPA to regulate carbon emissions, required police to possess a warrant to enter a suspect's home, and much more. (Business Insider)
  
• Confirmation consistency. There have been 29 instances of a vacant Supreme Court seat during an election year. Nineteen of these instances occurred while the President and Senate were led by the same party, and 18 new nominees were confirmed. In the other 10 cases, only one nominee was confirmed. (ABA)
  
• What is the commission? The bipartisan commission will consist of 36 legal scholars, former judges, and reform advocates. They will have 180 days to study the potential changes, hold public meetings, and complete a report with their findings. (USA Today)
  
• Partisan support. While polling data is mixed, support for expansion generally falls along party lines. According to a YouGov poll, 60% of Democrats think the Court should be expanded, while 84% of Republicans want no change. The majority of polls found that a sizable percentage of Americans are undecided. (YouGov)

NARRATIVES

BOTTOM LINE

What Does It All Mean?

This is not the first and probably won’t be the last time we have this debate. Depending on where you get your news, the gun control debate will probably sound something like this...

As it stands, current justices on the Supreme Court seem to oppose any significant reform that might politicize the Court and potentially undermine its functionality. The oldest Democratic justice on the Supreme Court, Stephen Breyer, has been very vocal against adding new justices. He recommended that advocates of expanding the Court should think “long and hard” about what they are proposing. For a judicial body that determines the legality of important cultural issues, it’s an important consideration. In a rare public statement, Chief Justice John Roberts, a Republican appointment, seems to agree: the problem isn’t partisan justices. In 2018, after then-President Trump called a jurist ruling against him biased, Roberts said, “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges.” 

The Supreme Court frequently rules on hot-bed issues, but perhaps the most talked about is abortion. Roe v. Wade, the Court’s most notable ruling on the issue, made access to abortion procedures a Constitutional right. While a conservative majority actually delivered the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, some in the media are concerned that the current conservative majority (6-3) could hollow out or strike down the ruling. In the absence of the ruling, up to 18 states could prohibit abortions. At the moment, there’s no indication that the Supreme Court will try to overturn Roe v. Wade any time soon, if at all.

Expanding the Supreme Court could make the Left’s priorities harder to overturn, but it could also be a risk for the Democrats. A YouGov poll found that a majority of independent voters were opposed to increasing the size of the Supreme Court. Losing those independent votes could be detrimental to Democrat’s chances at winning in the 2022 and 2024 Congressional elections: since 1934, the President’s party (in this case the Democrats) has only ever gained Congressional seats during two election cycles.

While we can’t predict the study’s outcome, it’s unlikely that the commission recommends adding more justices to the Supreme Court. In October, Biden himself said that he is “not a fan” of adding seats to the Court. With the commission’s study being released in approximately six months, we’ll see if he sticks to that.

Share Civil. Earn rewards.

Or, copy, paste, and send your referral link to your friends + family.
 
Your referral link: *|RH_REFLINK|*

Your total referrals: *|RH_TOTREF|* 

IN OTHER NEWS

What Else We're Following

• J&J. Yesterday, states began halting the use of Johnson & Johnson's one-shot vaccine after federal health officials recommended a pause "out of an abundance of caution," due to exceedingly rare but dangerous blood clots. Out of 7,000,000 Americans who've received the vaccine, six have developed blood clots, putting your odds at approximately 1/1,000,000. You're twice as likely to be struck by lightning in a given year, at around 1/500,000. (USA Today)
• Shooting charges. Later today, prosecutors are expected to decide whether to charge the former police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb. The shooting sparked nights of protests and raising tensions amid the nearby murder trial of the ex-officer charged with killing George Floyd. (AP)
• Climate change. More than 300 businesses have signed an open letter calling on the Biden administration to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions to at least half of 2005 levels by 2030. That would nearly double a previous target set by former President Barack Obama in 2015, who pledged a 25-28% reduction by 2025. (NPR)

Finally, some good news

Talk about some good news. A couple found a baby on the New York subway. He just turned 20 as their adopted son.(Good News Network)

Seize opportunities this week! Who knows, maybe you'll end up paying for their college. We'll see you next Wednesday.