eNewMexican

‘Court packing’ divides Biden’s commission

By Charlie Savage

WASHINGTON — The bipartisan commission appointed by President Joe Biden to study possible changes to the federal judiciary unanimously approved a final report Tuesday that flagged “profound disagreement” among its members over the issue that led to the panel’s creation: calls to expand or “pack” the Supreme Court with additional justices.

By a vote of 34-0, the commission approved a 288-page report that offered a critical appraisal of arguments for and against that and many other ideas for changes to the Supreme Court, including imposing 18-year term limits on justices and reducing their power to strike down acts of Congress. But the group did not offer specific recommendations.

That result was in line with the mandate given to the commission by Biden but also underscored the lack of consensus and suggested the report might do little in the short run to drive any particular ideas for change.

“Given the size and nature of the commission and the complexity of the issues addressed, individual members of the commission would have written the report with different emphases and approaches,” the report said.

“But the commission submits this report today in the belief that it represents a fair and constructive treatment of the complex and often highly controversial issues it was charged with examining.”

The report comes as the Supreme Court’s expanded conservative bloc is considering blockbuster changes to the law, including whether to overturn Roe v. Wade’s nearly 50-year-old precedent on abortion rights.

But while the report is addressed to Biden, most of the changes it weighs would require an act of Congress or a constitutional amendment — both difficult in the sharply divided climate.

The report grew out of an intensely political moment for the court.

After Republicans blocked former President Barack Obama from filling a vacancy in early 2016, leaving the seat open for a year on the argument the winner of that year’s election should fill it, they rushed to confirm an appointee of former President Donald Trump during the final days of the 2020 presidential election after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death.

Those maneuvers cemented a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, even though Democrats have won the popular vote in seven of the past eight presidential elections.

That outcome, along with the Supreme Court rulings permitting greater restrictions on voting, led some liberals to propose Democrats should expand the number of justices to rebalance the court.

Rather than take a clear position on that issue during the final weeks of the presidential campaign, Biden said he would appoint a panel to study it if elected.

In that sense, the commission has already achieved its main political function: enabling him to get past the election without taking a polarizing stand for or against the idea.

NATION & WORLD

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2021-12-08T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-08T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://enewmexican.com/article/281672553236656

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