The issue of whether or not to expand the Supreme Court has been a hot topic for many years. Some people believe that the Court should be expanded to thirteen justices, while others think nine is sufficient. I believe that it's time to expand the court. Here's why:
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The Number of Supreme Court Justices was originally based on the number of United States District Courts
The number of Supreme Court Justices was previously based on the number of United States District Courts – a practice that has changed throughout history. The first Congress in 1789 determined that there would be a total of six Supreme Court Justices, corresponding to the six districts established by the Judiciary Act of 1789.
This arrangement remained unchanged for nearly ninety years, until 1866 when Congress increased the number of justices to seven following the establishment of five new district courts. However, this legislation was not put into effect until 1870 due to President Andrew Johnson's veto in 1867. In response to Johnson's actions, Congress once again increased the number of Supreme Court Justices in 1869 to nine – matching the then-number of US District Courts at nine.
At that time, each of the Justices had to travel to his assigned District Court to periodically preside over that court in addition to his SCOTUS duties!
Today, there are 94 district courts, and now most cases reach the Supreme Court after they have been heard by one of the 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals: twelve regional Courts of Appeals and one Federal Court of Appeals.
Increasing the number of SCOTUS Justices to 13 would match the present number of Courts of Appeals.
The "Shadow Docket" of the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States has a long-standing tradition of keeping the public in the dark about its decisions. The “shadow docket” is a term used to describe these secret proceedings, which are not open for public scrutiny or knowledge.
The court holds oral arguments behind closed doors and does not release audio files or transcripts, nor does it provide detailed information about what happens in this segment of its work. This means that Americans don’t know what is being discussed, how justices are responding to particular cases, or when opinions will be released.
Recently, many litigants, especially Trump and other far-right Republicans, are using the "Shadow Docket" system to by-pass the Appellate Courts (especially if the assigned Appellate Court Judge is not the one they want) and get their cases sent directly to the Supreme Court.
As a result, lawmakers are unable to pass new laws based on potential reasoning from the court, and the public is denied their right to understand how the highest court in the nation makes decisions.
Expanding the court would allow for more diverse perspectives on important issues
The Republicans try to claim that if the Democrats increase the number of SCOTUS justices, that means they will be "packing the Court."
However, it has been the Republicans, led by Republican then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and former president Trump who deliberately "packed the Court" with ultra-conservatives.
First, McConnell deliberately held up filling the seat opened up with the unexpected death of Justice Antonin Scalia and refused to even have a hearing for President Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland. McConnell claimed that even though the next election was more than a year away, it was "too close" to the next election to add a new Justice.
Then, of course, Trump, McConnell, and the Republican Senate, after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg, quickly nominated and approved Amy Coney Barrett in less than 30 days, and not only "close" to the next election, but even as the early voting was already underway.
In the middle, Trump and the Republicans totally ignored any alleged wrongdoings by some of their nominees and pushed through the nominations of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
So, expanding the SCOTUS will also more evenly "balance" the Court with diverse perspectives and more representation from moderate and liberal backgrounds.
The appointment of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has helped, but she replaced a liberal justice, so the highly conservative majority was maintained.
Adding more liberal justices would not be "packing" the Court, but expanding liberal voices, which would more closely represent American society as a whole.
It's time for Congress to act and expand the Supreme Court!
It’s time for Congress to act and expand the US Supreme Court from nine to thirteen Justices.
An increased number of Justices can only make our judiciary stronger and fairer and will make the Court more representative of the demographics of America in the 21st century.
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