Court Packing

Chapel Phil

More justices doesn't mean more justice. In this episode of Chapel Phil, Max Hazerjian tours the history of the US Supreme Court to examine when and how it can be expanded. After historical framing, Max argues that many other methods of court reform could be superior political and constitutional alternatives -- listen to find out why!

Citations:
All music in this episode is the property of Epidemic Sound.

Berman, Russell. “Republicans Abandon the Filibuster to Save Neil Gorsuch.” The Atlantic, April 6, 2017. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/republicans-nuke-the-filibuster-tosave-neil-gorsuch/522156/.

Buchanan, Mary Jo. “The Need for Supreme Court Term Limits.” Center for American Progress (blog), August 3, 2020. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/courts/reports/2020/08/03/488518/need-supreme-courtterm-limits/.

Burns, James MacGregor. Packing the Court: The Rise of Judicial Power and the Coming Crisis of the Supreme Court. New York City, New York: The Penguin Press, 2009.

Elving, Ron. “What Happened With Merrick Garland in 2016 and Why It Matters Now.” National Public Radio. June 29, 2018. https://www.npr.org/2018/06/29/624467256/what-happened-withmerrick-garland-in-2016-and-why-it-matters-now.

Emery Jr., C. Eugene. “In Context: The ‘Biden Rule’ on Supreme Court Nominations in an Election Year.” PolitiFact. March 17, 2016. https://www.politifact.com/article/2016/mar/17/contextbiden-rule-supreme-court-nominations/.

Hemel, Daniel. “Court-Packing Is a Dreadful Option. Biden Shouldn’t Rule It out.” Washington Post, October 12, 2020. http://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/10/12/court-packing-bidenthreat-supreme/.

Hodge, Maria L. Review of The Feasibility of “Rotating” Supreme Court Justices, by Tim Zubizarreta. JURIST, July 1, 2019. https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2019/07/maria-hodgerotating-justices/.

Sprunt, Barbara. “Biden Campaign Continues to Deflect on Court-Packing.” National Public Radio. October 11, 2020. https://www.npr.org/2020/10/11/922806310/biden-campaign-continues-todeflect-on-court-packing.

Stephenson, Jr., D. Grier, ed. An Essential Safeguard: Essays on the United States Supreme Court and Its Justices. Contributions in Legal Studies 63. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1991. Ballotpedia. “United States Court Reorganization Legislation,” n.d. https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_court_reorganization_legislation#:~:text=The%20Eighth% 20and%20Ninth%20Circuits,new%20states%20to%20the%20Union.&text=This%20Act%20als o%20rearranged%20the,to%20support%20the%20circuit%20court.