Rep. Johnson Re-Introduces Supreme Court Justice Term Limit Measure to Restore Balance, Legitimacy for SCOTUS
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an effort to restore independence to the nation’s highest court, today Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) reintroduced the Supreme Court Tenure Establishment and Retirement Modernization (TERM) Act, which would establish term limits for Supreme Court justices and a regularized appointments process. Under the TERM Act, a new justice would be nominated every two years and spend 18 years in active service, while preserving constitutional protections for judicial independence in decision-making.
“We are a nation of laws grounded in the independence and impartiality of our judicial system. This independence is designed to ensure that our justices are shielded behind a veil of neutrality, free from pressure and influence,” said Rep. Johnson, ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet. “Creating 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices, with a new justice taking the bench every two years, would help ensure that the justices are able to make decisions based solely on law and fact, all while depoliticizing the confirmation process. At a time when federal courts are acting as the protectors of our democracy, this is a necessary step toward bolstering confidence, faith and independence to our nation’s highest court.”
The Supreme Court TERM Act would:
• Establish terms of 18 years in regular active service for Supreme Court justices, after which justices who retain the office will assume senior status;
• Establish regular appointments of Supreme Court justices in the first and third years following a presidential election as the sole means of Supreme Court appointments;
• Require current justices to assume senior status in order of length of service on the Court as regularly appointed justices receive their commissions;
• Preserve life tenure by ensuring that senior justices retired from regular active service continue to hold the office of Supreme Court justice, including official duties and compensation; and
• Require a randomly selected Supreme Court justice who has assumed senior status to fill in on the Court if the number of justices in regular active service falls below nine.
America is alone among modern constitutional democracies in allowing its high-court justices to serve for decades without term or age limits, resulting in some presidents appointing no justices and others appointing as much as a third of the Court. Regularizing appointments every two years will ensure a Supreme Court that is more representative of the nation and decrease the partisan stakes of the confirmation process. Term limits for Supreme Court justices are an essential tool to restoring a constitutional balance to the three branches of the federal government.
The Supreme Court TERM Act would also preserve judicial independence by ensuring Supreme Court justices who assume senior status remain fully compensated members of the federal judiciary for life, capable of exercising official duties on and off the bench for as long as they choose.
Cosponsors: Jamie Raskin (MD-08); Madeleline Dean (PA-04); Rose DeLauro (CT-03); Suzan DelBene (WA-01); Chris Deluzio (PA-17); Dwight Evans (PA-03); Valerie Foushee (NC-04); Maxwell Frost (Fl-10); Jesús García (IL-04); Dan Goldman (NY-10); Jared Huffman (CA-02); Pramila Jayapal (WA-07); Ro Khanna (CA-17); Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08); Greg Landsman (OH-01); Summer Lee (PA-12); Mike Levin (CA-49); Kevin Mullin (CA-15); Jerrold Nadler (NY-12); Eleanor Norton (DC); Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14); Ilhan Omar (MN-05); Chellie Pingree (ME-01); Pat Ryan (NY-18); Andrea Salinas (OR-06); Mary Scanlon (PA-05); Jan Schakowsky (IL-06); Adam Smith (WA-09); Melanie Stansbury (NM-01); Mark Takano (CA-39); Shri Thanedar (MI-13); Rashida Tlaib (MI-12); Ted Lieu (CA-36); Kweisi Mfume (MD-07); Maxwell Frost (FL-10); Ayanna Pressley (MA-07); Delia Ramirez (IL-03).
Read the bill HERE.
As Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, Rep. Johnson has worked tirelessly to address the need to bolster the independence of the Judiciary.
GROUPS SUPPORTING THE TERM ACT: Accountable US; All* Above All; Alliance for Justice; Black Voters Matter Fund; Blue Future; Brennan Center for Justice; Center for Common Ground; Citizen Action of New York; Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW); Climate Hawks Vote; Community Change Action; Court Accountability; Courage California; DemCast USA; Democracy 21; Demand Justice; Disability Victory; End Citizens United; Enough of Gun Violence; FFRF Action Fund; Free Speech For People; Greenpeace USA; Indivisible; League of Conservation Voters; MoveOn; National Association of Consumer Advocates; National Women's Law Center; NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; New Disabled South; Newtown Action Alliance; NextGen America; Our Revolution; People For the American Way; People Power United; Progress Arizona; Project On Government Oversight; Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK); Public Citizen; Reboot Our Democracy; Reproaction; Reproductive Freedom for All; Reproductive Rights Coalition of Charlotte; Stand Up America; State Democracy Defenders Fund; Take Back the Court Action Fund; Term Limit the Court; The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights; The National Vote; The Workers Circle; Transformative Justice Coalition; Transparency International; UltraViolet Action; Voices for Progress; Voters of Tomorrow; Walking to Fix Our Democracy; Women's March.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
“Term limits for Supreme Court justices are a commonsense, widely supported, and deeply necessary reform to restore trust in this institution,” said Maggie Jo Buchanan, Interim Executive Director of Demand Justice. “There is a reason why 49 out of 50 states impose term limits, elections or mandatory retirement ages on their high courts and we applaud Rep. Johnson for leading this important effort. With trust in the Court plummeting to all-time lows and the president attacking the judiciary at nearly every turn, the need for reforms that would strengthen the Court’s independence have only become all the more clear.”
“The TERM Act would go a long way to strengthen the Supreme Court and the public’s confidence in the rule of law,” said Michael Waldman, President and CEO, Brennan Center for Justice. “We urge members of Congress of both parties to advance this bill. A wide majority of Americans favor term limits for the Supreme Court. The TERM Act is consistent with the fundamental American value that no one should hold too much power for too long.” –
“We need a Supreme Court that works for all of us and fulfills its promise of equal justice under law, and the TERM Act would go a long way to modernize the Court,” said Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program and an advisor at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “Indeed, the creation of 18-year terms of active services for Supreme Court justices would create more accountability at a time when the majority on the Court has curtailed many of our civil and human rights and when there is an escalating ethics crisis at the Court. The TERM Act would help build confidence in the Court and help future generations have the opportunity for a more fair and just Court. We thank Congressman Hank Johnson for introducing this common-sense legislation, and we will continue to work with him and others on additional important changes that would strengthen our democracy and give all people in America reason to trust that our federal judiciary will one day work to protect and advance the rights of all people, not just the wealthy and powerful.”
“The Supreme Court has become dangerously unbalanced,” said People For the American Way President Svante Myrick. “Unlike nearly every other democracy in the world, we allow justices to serve indefinitely, with no limits on their terms as justices. Some presidents have appointed no justices; others appointed a third of the Court in a single term. That imbalance has fueled growing public distrust in the legitimacy of our nation’s highest court. The TERM Act is a move in the right direction, aligning the Court with the will of the American people, the majority of whom across the political spectrum support Supreme Court term limits. We thank Rep. Johnson for reintroducing this practical, widely supported reform.”
“Supreme Court term limits are common sense– in fact, 49 states already impose fixed terms or mandatory retirement ages on their highest judges," said Brett Edkins, Managing Director of Policy and Political Affairs for Stand Up America. "With term limits, every president would have the chance to choose two justices during their 4-year term, promoting long-term ideological balance and preventing nominations from turning into all-out partisan warfare. Stand Up America is thankful for Representative Johnson’s leadership and will fight alongside him to advance the TERM Act.”
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