​”Counterpacking” the Supreme Court

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Monday night, Supreme Court member Clarence Thomas swore in Amy Coney Barrett to the court at the White House.

ReformSCOTUS.org has produced two videos, “Time to Talk about Court Reform” and “Our Democracy Has Been Put to the Test.” 


MARJORIE COHN, marjorielegal@gmail.com@marjoriecohn
Cohn, professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and former president of the National Lawyers Guild, recently wrote, “Ginsburg’s Legacy Is Vast, But a Trump Appointee Could Overturn Her Best Rulings.” She wrote last month: “Democrats must play hard ball. They should pledge that if Joe Biden wins the election and the Democrats assume control of the Senate, they will raise the number of members on the Supreme Court from 9 to 13. The Constitution does not prescribe how many members will sit on the high court so Congress can raise the number.” Cohn also wrote the piece “From a Justice for Gender Equality to a ‘Justice’ for Gender Oppression.”

FRANCIS BOYLE, fboyle@illinois.edu

    Boyle is law professor at the University of Illinois. In September, he was quoted in the Guardian: “From [Republicans’] perspective, this is the chance of a lifetime to turn the court to the right.”

   Boyle has been advocating that the Democrats embrace expanding the court since the Brett Kavanaugh hearing. He said today: “The Federalist Society, with its complete distortion of the Constitution and phony concept of ‘Originalism,’ has been packing the courts since the Reagan administration. The Democratic Party should embrace counterpacking the courts.

    “Contrary to what many claim, FDR’s plan to expand the Supreme Court was a great  success. The court got the message and began to uphold his New Deal legislation after previously striking it down, which prompted his scheme in the first place. So he did not have to pack the court. But these Federalist Society justices are so hard core, it will be needed now.

    “Eliminating life tenure would require a Constitutional amendment, which is a non-starter to begin with and even a waste of time, efforts and money to try. Counterpacking is the best way to deal with this.”