New Supreme Court Term Limit Bill Unveiled by Senate Democrats

Senate Democrats detailed long-shot legislation Thursday that would the cap the number of years Supreme Court justices may regularly hear cases, part of a broader effort to rein in the conservative court.

The bill, spearheaded by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), comes amid heightened scrutiny over the Supreme Court following reporting from ProPublica that several justices, who enjoy lifetime positions, have accepted large gifts from Republican donors without disclosing them.

But the proposal is unlikely to gain traction in the Senate, where Republicans have opposed Democratic-led legislative efforts to address ethical lapses and misconduct at the high court.

Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a hallway interview last month that there has been “no indication” from Republicans, whose votes are needed for bills to move forward in the narrowly divided chamber, that they are interested in legislating in this area.

Whitehouse’s bill also wouldn’t move in the Republican-controlled House.

The proposed legislation would permit presidents to appoint a Supreme Court justice every two years, but allow only the nine most recently appointed justices — or those appointed in the last 18 years — to hear cases from the federal appeals courts, which compromise the bulk of the high court’s docket.

Justices appointed earlier would be limited to hearing cases over which the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction, such as disputes between states. They could also serve as alternates for appellate jurisdiction cases if one of the nine more recent justices must recuse from a case or is otherwise unavailable. The bill wouldn’t take effect until the next presidential term after it became law.

The new proposal is similar to legislation Whitehouse proposed last year, which also imposed 18-year term limits on justices, but uses a different mechanism: by forcing them to take senior status, or a less active role on the court, after 18 years. That bill wasn’t taken up by the Judiciary Committee.

The latest version would preserve life tenure for Supreme Court justices by allowing them to continue to hear original jurisdiction cases and exercise other powers after 18 years, according to a fact sheet provided by Whitehouse’s office.

Whitehouse has also proposed legislation this Congress that would establish a code of conduct for Supreme Court justices. That bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in July with no Republican votes, and has yet to be brought up for a floor vote.