Can Congress Limit Life Terms of Supreme Court Justices Without Amending Constitution?

Photo by Anthony Garand on Unsplash

The notion that Supreme Court Justices, once appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, serve for life is as old as the Constitution, which dates to 1788.

The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Senate’s rush to fill her seat before the November General Election has sparked renewed interest in limiting the terms of Supreme Court Justices. Ginsburg’s death leaves the nine-member Court with eight Justices: three liberals and five conservatives.

However, Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) played power politics in 2016 to prevent President Barack Obama from appointing Judge Merrick Garland to the High Court. McConnell’s power-play delayed a vote until after Obama’s term expired — destroyed any sense of congressional collegiality by confirming Brett Kavanaugh.

Then McConnell’s recent high-jinks. Within weeks of the General Election to fill a vacancy on the Court, opening the door for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, has caused many in the progressive community to get creative in finding ways to limit the power of a political party to steal two Supreme Court nominees.

The high-jinks flow both ways depending upon which party hold the majority in the Senate. Leadership majorities by virtue of its nature tend…