U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined several Senate Democrats in introducing legislation that would establish 18-year active terms for Supreme Court justices and create a regular schedule for appointing new members to the nation’s highest court.
The Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits (BATL) Act would require the president to nominate one justice every two years, during the first and third years of each presidential term, with Senate confirmation. Under the proposal, justices would serve 18 years hearing the Supreme Court’s full docket before transitioning to senior status, where they would retain their lifetime appointments but hear only a limited number of constitutionally required cases and serve as substitutes when active justices are unavailable.
Supporters say the legislation is designed to reduce the politicization of Supreme Court appointments and restore public confidence in the judiciary by ensuring predictable vacancies and regular turnover on the Court.
“The Supreme Court has reached unprecedented and unacceptable levels of politicization,” said Padilla. “Term limits are a common sense solution to lower the temperature on the Judiciary and start restoring trust in the highest court in our land.”
Under the bill, only the nine most recently appointed justices would hear appellate cases, which make up the vast majority of the Court’s workload. Justices serving in senior status would continue to hear original jurisdiction cases and could participate in appellate cases if an active justice is recused or otherwise unavailable.
If approved by Congress, the legislation would not take effect immediately. Instead, it would become effective at the start of the first new presidential term following its enactment.
The bill is sponsored by Padilla, Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. The legislation is also co-sponsored by Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Peter Welch of Vermont, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Adam Schiff of California and Patty Murray of Washington State
The proposal has received endorsements from several advocacy organizations, including the Brennan Center for Justice; Public Citizen; Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington; the Project on Government Oversight; and Stand Up America—all which argue the changes would make the Court more accountable and strengthen public confidence in the judiciary.
