America’s founders determined that U.S. Supreme Court justices should be appointed for lifetime terms in large part to ensure that those tasked with interpreting the law would not be swayed by social or political pressures.
Of course, the Constitution does include a “good behavior” clause that provides for the removal of justices — but no one who has ever served on the nation’s highest court has been impeached.
Nevertheless, there has been some bipartisan pushback against these lengthy terms at various points throughout the nation’s history. Now that the court has a firm conservative majority, a growing number of leftists are calling for term limits on the Supreme Court.
Most recently, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) offered her assessment, telling MSNBC host Jen Psaki that justices should “certainly” be booted from their seats after a predetermined period of time.
83 year old career politician with 42 years in office endorses term limits on Supreme Court Justices.
Next thing you know, Nancy Pelosi will be calling out SCOTUS for owning stock and insider trading…
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) June 26, 2023
“Here we have a body … chosen for life,” she said. “Never have to run for office. Nominated, confirmed for life, with no accountability for their ethics behavior.”
Not only has Pelsoi and others blasted the high court for its decision last year to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision enshrining federal abortion protections, but critics have also accused some of the bench’s right-wing justices of ethical violations.
Similar allegations have subsequently been lobbed in the other direction, including a complaint that liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor made money from the Penguin Random House book publishing firm and did not recuse herself from cases that involved the company.
In the aftermath of last year’s bombshell ruling on abortion, House Democrats responded by introducing a bill that would set Supreme Court term limits at 18 years and allow the president to appoint a new justice every two years.
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) introduced the proposal, asserting at the time: “Regularizing appointments every two years will ensure a supreme court that is more representative of the nation, reflecting the choices of recently elected presidents and senators. Term limits for supreme court justices are an essential tool to restoring a constitutional balance to the three branches of the federal government.”
Some Republicans have advocated for term limits, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
“I just think that people—whether they’re in the legislative, executive, or judicial branch — shouldn’t see their appointment to an office as permanent,” he said while seeking the GOP presidential nomination ahead of the 2016 election. “It would be that they have no accountability whatsoever.”
