U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey has joined a group of Democratic senators pushing legislation that would effectively end lifetime service on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Booker, along with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Alex Padilla of California, reintroduced the Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act in July.
Under the proposal, Supreme Court justices would serve 18 years hearing the Court’s full docket. After that period, they would remain on the Court in a more limited senior role and hear only a small number of constitutionally required cases. A new justice would be appointed every two years, creating a more predictable appointment schedule.
Booker and the other sponsors argue that lifetime appointments allow individual justices to influence federal law for decades and have contributed to increasing politicization surrounding Supreme Court nominations.
The proposal is different from claims circulating online that Democrats are seeking to force Supreme Court justices to retire at age 75. The legislation backed by Booker focuses on an 18-year active term, not a mandatory retirement age of 75.
The measure has also attracted support from several other Democratic senators, including Mazie Hirono, Jeff Merkley, Peter Welch, Brian Schatz, Kirsten Gillibrand, Adam Schiff and Patty Murray.
The legislation would still need to pass Congress before it could take effect.
Source: Office of U.S. Senator Cory Booker; Office of U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.
By NJ RADAR Team