Justice & Court Reform
As the former chair and now ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet, Congressman Johnson is the leading voice in the House on court reform -- particularly the Supreme Court. Even before the 6-3 right-wing supermajority took control of the court, Rep. Johnson proposed legislation to expand the Supreme Court (Judiciary Act); require that the justices follow a code of ethics, transparency, and recusal standards (SCERT Act); and establish term limits for justices (TERM Act). Rep. Johnson has also introduced legislation to ensure that employees of the federal judiciary have strong statutory rights and protections against discrimination and workplace misconduct (JAA).
For more on the Congressman’s work on court reform, please read below.
More on Justice & Court Reform
By: Zoe Seiler
Atlanta, GA — As the Biden-Harris Administration works to provide student debt relief, members of Congress, including United States Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-4), discussed new state data on how the plan will benefit borrowers during a virtual press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 20.
In Georgia, over 1.5 million people will be eligible for student debt relief, Johnson said.
“Even more astounding, nearly 70% of the borrowers in Georgia who are eligible for loan forgiveness are Pell Grant recipients, totally more than one million people,” he added.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Hank Johnson, Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, led a coalition of Judiciary subcommittee chairs and members of the Judiciary Committee today introducing The Circuit Court Judgeships Act of 2022 to address the massive case backlog due to a shortage of federal judges in circuits across the country.
Original cosponsors include Reps. Jerrold Nadler (NY), Steve Cohen (TN), Eric Swalwell (CA), Deborah Ross (NC), Shelia Jackson-Lee (TX) and Madeleine Dean (PA).
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) issued the following statement in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month:
Each year from September 15 to October 15, we observe National Hispanic Heritage Month to celebrate and recognize the contributions of America's Latino communities.
And nowhere is that beautiful diversity more on display than in Georgia and the Fourth Congressional District.
As we prepare to observe the Labor Day weekend, I want to recognize and celebrate workers, especially those who aren't always acknowledged for what they do to help all of us in our daily lives in ways large and small.
By Jozsef Papp, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AJC: U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson seeks to protect artists' lyrics from prosecutors.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) voted to send historic, inflation-fighting legislation to the President's desk. The Inflation Reduction Act will deliver landmark investments to lower Georgia families' kitchen table costs, create nine million good-paying union jobs, combat the climate crisis and dramatically reduce the deficit.
"Today, I proudly voted to fight inflation, slash Georgians' kitchen table costs, create good-paying jobs and deliver the largest climate investment in our nation's history," said Rep. Johnson.
"Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech."
"Freddy Mercury did not confess to having ‘just killed a man' by putting ‘a gun against his head' and ‘'pulling the trigger. Bob Marley did not confess to having shot a sheriff. And Johnny Cash did not confess to shooting ‘a man in Reno, just to watch him die' – Bey-Cousin v. Powell (E.D. PA 2021)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an effort to restore legitimacy and independence to the nation's highest court, today Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) introduced the Supreme Court Tenure Establishment and Retirement Modernization (TERM) Act, which would establish term limits for Supreme Court justices while preserving constitutional protections for judicial independence in decision making. Under the TERM Act, a new justice would take the bench every two years and spend 18 years in active service.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, in order to combat right-wing attacks on women's reproductive health freedoms, Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) voted to defend Georgians' right to access birth control. Passed in response to the Supreme Court's heart-wrenching decision undermining the Constitutional right to privacy, the Right to Contraception Act establishes a statutory right to obtain, use and provide contraception under federal law — preempting Republican attempts to criminalize contraception.