Academic

Rethinking Lifetime Tenure For Supreme Court Justices

By Tim Zinnecker

Proposal:  ?Instead of lifetime tenure, each justice could be appointed to a finite term.  If the justices served for 18 years, every president could appoint two justices during each four-year term.? 

Advantages?

?First, by ensuring that each president has an equal opportunity to appoint justices, the proposal would reduce the arbitrariness of the current system and make the court more reflective of the changing political world.?

?Second, the current system effectively disqualifies the most experienced candidates ? those in their 60s and 70s ? because presidents understandably want their imprimatur on the Court to last as long as possible.?

?Third, the proposal would reduce the risk of justices remaining on the court as their faculties diminish, either because they are unaware of their limitations or are holding out until a like-minded president is elected.?

These are the thoughts of Mark Trachtenberg and Kent Rutter, developed in more detail in their editorial recently published by The Houston Chronicle and available here.

Trivia:  Name the last Justice to depart the Court without serving at least 18 years.

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on July 22, 2009 (boomark / email).