Call for passage of Judiciary Act to restore Court’s legitimacy
Sen. Markey joined by Rep. Hank Johnson (left), Sen. Markey and advocates (right)
Washington (July 25, 2024) -- Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the lead author of the Judiciary Act, today hosted a press conference with Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet and lead House sponsor of the legislation, along with reproductive health, environmental, and judicial advocacy groups, calling to expand the U.S. Supreme Court. The Judiciary Act would expand the United States Supreme Court by adding four seats, creating a 13-justice Supreme Court and restore balance to the nation’s highest court after four years of norm-breaking actions by Republicans led to its current composition and greatly undermined the Court’s standing in the eyes of the American people.
“When the Court issued the Dobbs decision, I warned that it was a preview of coming atrocities. In the Court’s 2023 term, they began to arrive,” said Senator Markey. “The Court’s recent decisions on presidential immunity, Chevron deference, and overturning Roe v. Wade laid bare that a far-right, extremist majority has been fully captured and plunged the Court into a crisis of confidence and legitimacy. Because we can no longer trust the current Supreme Court to uphold the words engraved on the outside of the Supreme Court – Equal Justice Under the Law - we must fight to return balance and legitimacy to this institution and expand the Court.”
“It's easy to take for granted that the number of justices on the Supreme Court must be nine but in fact this number is not set in the Constitution and has changed seven times over the course of the country's history,” said Rep. Johnson (GA-04), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and cofounder of the Court Reform Now Taskforce. “Thirteen justices would mean one justice per circuit court of appeals, consistent with how the number of justices was originally determined. It is time that we start thinking about the Supreme Court like we think about the other co-equal branches of government and consider whether its current composition allows it to effectively do what we need it to do — efficiently and expertly administer justice and uphold the rule of law, rather than the unethical Court we have today that appears to be beholden to dark money influence and at times, pernicious corruption. Congress must pass reforms that add seats to the Supreme Court so we can restore balance, judicial independence, meaningful checks and balances and protect the rights of all Americans.”
Cosponsors of the Judiciary Act include Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Representatives Jerry Nadler (NY-12), Cori Bush (MO-01), and Adam Schiff (CA-30).
“The right-wing majority on the Supreme Court has shown repeatedly that they do not serve the people of this country—they serve Donald Trump and wealthy corporations exploiting our communities. Their decisions, including gutting environmental protections and reproductive health care access, profoundly affect every aspect of our constituents’ lives,” said Rep. Bush. “We know the extremists on the Court will continue to chip away at our rights until Congress acts to stop them. That means passing the Judiciary Act and other necessary Court reforms to weaken the influence of the pro-insurrection wing and establish a fair and just Court that protects our rights, instead of stripping them away.”
“Republicans have transformed the Supreme Court into a partisan vehicle for their conservative policies, endangering our democracy, reproductive rights, and environmental standards,” said Rep. Schiff. “It’s time to pass the Judiciary Act to ensure the court serves justice, not political interests. Our democracy and the rule of law depend on a fair and impartial judiciary, and we must act now to preserve it.”
“Term after term, the people of this country come away with fewer rights. We cannot and will not accept this as our new normal. We are not powerless to stop it. Rebalancing the Court, along with other critical reforms such as term limits and ethics, would ensure that the Court better serves the values and will of the people,” said LaNita King, National Director of Programs at Demand Justice.
“In the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe and decimated abortion rights, it’s increasingly clear that other fundamental rights are on the line as well. Our freedoms are under threat, and our federal courts no longer function as the backstop in protecting and advancing our rights. Instead, they’ve been misused to push deeply unpopular agendas to control our bodies, lives, and futures. Planned Parenthood Federation of America is proud to support the Judiciary Act because our futures depend on federal courts that reflect this country and the ideals of the majority,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
“We need judges who will protect our climate and environment and look out for the health and safety of our families and communities. But MAGA justices on the Supreme Court, some of whom have questionable ties to the fossil fuel industry, continually twist the law to undermine critical climate, clean air, and clean water safeguards,” said Doug Lindner, Senior Director of Judiciary & Democracy at the League of Conservation Voters. “At the same time, they are working to weaken our democracy, roll back voting rights, excuse insurrectionists, and sanction polluter money in politics—all in defiance of longstanding legal principles. LCV is proud to join Senator Markey in the urgent call to expand and rebalance this captured Supreme Court with qualified, ethical justices who protect our climate, our democracy, and our rights instead of attacking them.”
“During the Supreme Court’s most recent term, the right-wing justices gutted the federal government’s ability to protect the American people, criminalized homelessness, and granted presidents immunity from criminal prosecution. They will continue to erode our fundamental freedoms and our democracy unless Congress acts,” said Christina Harvey, Executive Director of Stand Up America. “Senator Markey has been leading the fight to hold the Roberts Court accountable, including by championing the Judiciary Act to restore balance to the bench. We applaud his leadership and urge other members of Congress to join him in supporting this vital legislation. It's time to reform this out-of-control Court.”
“This term, the right-wing zealots on this court showed us once again that there is no bottom. From criminalizing our unhoused neighbors to helping fraudsters and crooks to anointing Donald Trump king, no constitutional principle is safe from their power grab,” said Alexa Barrett, Director of Communications for Take Back the Court Action Fund. “Our democracy cannot function when a panel of unelected, unaccountable ideologues are intent on turning it into an oligarchy. That’s why we’re proud to stand beside Senator Markey in this urgent fight to add four new justices to the Supreme Court who will abide by the rule of law and work on behalf of the American people — not billionaire benefactors and right-wing extremists. If we want to restore legitimacy to this broken institution, we need to expand the court.”
“Trump and MAGA Republicans spent four years stacking the federal judiciary and the Supreme Court with ideologues to advance their out-of-touch agenda—and as a result, our democracy is facing a crisis. Attacks on our rights are moving through the federal courts because extremists know the system has been rigged in their favor. It’s past time to do something about it. Americans support the fundamental right to abortion, and they want to see the legitimacy of our Court restored, including through court expansion as outlined in the Judiciary Act,” said Mini Timmaraju, President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All.
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