Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, introduced a bill on Thursday that would expand the Supreme Court by adding six more justices.
The bill, the Judicial Modernization and Transparency Act, would also force the justices to have their tax returns publicly disclosed.
According to a press release from Wyden’s office, the bill will “restore balance among the three branches of government, increase transparency to improve public trust in America’s courts, and modernize the courts to ensure greater access to justice for more Americans” (via Wyden.Senate.gov):
In the wake of recent rulings upending decades of precedent and evidence of unethical behavior, Wyden’s Judicial Modernization and Transparency Act would modernize the courts by expanding the Supreme Court to 15 justices over three presidential terms, prevent political inaction from bottling up nominations to the Supreme Court, and restore appropriate deference to the legislative branch by requiring a supermajority to overturn acts of Congress, among other modernizing provisions to improve access to justice.
The bill would also implement much-needed reforms to bring more accountability to the Supreme Court recusal process and improve transparency around potential financial conflicts and other unethical behavior.
“The Supreme Court is in crisis and bold solutions are necessary to restore the public trust,” Wyden said in a statement. “More transparency, more accountability and more checks on a power hungry Supreme Court are just what the American people are asking for.”
Earlier this year, Townhall covered how President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced that they backed several Supreme Court “reforms” that included adding more justices and instating term limits.
In a statement, Harris said that Congress should pass the reforms.
“In the course of our Nation’s history, trust in the Supreme Court of the United States has been critical to achieving equal justice under law,” Harris said.
“That’s why President Biden and I are calling on Congress to pass important reforms – from imposing term limits for Justices’ active service, to requiring Justices to comply with binding ethics rules just like every other federal judge. And finally, in our democracy, no one should be above the law. So we must also ensure that no former President has immunity for crimes committed while in the White House,” Harris said, seeming to allude to former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president this year.
In an interview shortly after, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch responded to Biden and Harris’ agenda.
“I have one thought to add. It is that the independent judiciary means. What does it mean to you as an American? It means that when you’re unpopular, you can get a fair hearing under the law and under the Constitution. If you’re in the majority, you don’t need judges and juries to hear you and protect your rights…it’s there for the moments when the spotlight is on you. When the government’s coming after you. And don’t you want a ferociously independent judge and a jury of your peers to make those decisions? Isn’t that your right as an American? And so, I just say, be careful,” Gorsuch said.
Rare and powerful clip from this morning. Justice Neil Gorsuch comments on Biden's proposed reforms of the Supreme Court.pic.twitter.com/I5qnBXAZj3
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) August 4, 2024