Poll: Americans Support Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices
A poll conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center suggests that most Americans support President Biden's proposal for changes to the U.S. Supreme Court, including imposing term limits for the Court's justices.
As much as 82% of the population supports a proposal that includes a formal ethics code, measures to prevent conflicts of interest, and limits on the amount of time a justice can serve on the Court. The poll suggests most Americans would like to see restrictions on the Supreme Court's powers and believe the justices should not be allowed to hear cases in which they have a personal or financial interest.
How It Is Now
Currently, each Supreme Court justice can decide whether it is appropriate to recuse themselves from a specific case. However, an investigation by the Associated Press earlier this year revealed that the justices often benefit from events they are invited to.
The AP investigation showed that even though justices maintain that they cannot participate in events that benefit them personally, they do anyway. As an example, universities regularly host Supreme Court justices at events that ultimately result in fundraising, even if they do not themselves participate directly in fundraising. These events typically attract prominent individuals, many of whom donate money to these schools, effectively raising money as a result of hosting these events.
In addition, the investigation showed that while these visits are promoted as academic events and not fundraising events, they often bring together Supreme Court justices with government officials, despite the Court's Code of Conduct, which prohibits justices from engaging in political activity.
Proponents of these reforms argue that while the Supreme Court has a Code of Conduct, it does not have a way of enforcing these rules, leaving it up to the individual justices to determine whether conduct is ethical or inappropriate.
Meanwhile, lower court judges are generally prohibited from engaging in fundraising or political events and using their positions to advance their personal interests.
Some Recent Prominent Examples
It's not just fundraising, either. The media has widely reported instances of allegedly inappropriate conduct by the justices, such as Clarence Thomas' accepting luxury vacations and university tuition for a family member from billionaires, which the justice did not disclose despite official requirements to do so.
In 2017, Clemson University in South Carolina hosted Justice Sonia Sotomayor for a session with the students and a private luncheon that also included university donors. This raised the question of what the Court defines as a fundraising event.
Term Limits
The White House released a statement earlier this year addressing the so-called "ethics scandals," arguing for Supreme Court Reform, including the imposition of term limits for its members, among other important changes.
The U.S. is the only notable democracy in the world to provide life tenure for justices on the nation's highest court. Proponents of life tenure argue it keeps justices removed from political pressure. Critics say it insulates and imperializes the court. The most recent poll from Annenberg Public Policy Center suggests most Americans are in the latter camp.
Of course, changing from life tenure on the Supreme Court is far from a simple task. Even if there was broad political consensus, which there is not, it is always difficult to change the U.S. Constitution.
Related Resources:
- Justice Kagan Throws Shade at Shadow Docket (FindLaw's Federal Courts)
- Biden Proposes Term Limits for SCOTUS (FindLaw's Federal Courts)
- SCOTUS' New Ethics Code: Not Really New, Not Really a Code. But It's Something. (FindLaw's Federal Courts)