Supreme Court justices - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

Tex · 02-04-2010, 01:53 PM

The rumor in the news this morning is that the White House is preparing for two more potential vacancies on the court next spring. This of course really chafes people like me, after watching George Bush only get two appointees in 8 years, and only one of them was after a retirement.

I read a proposal some time ago that would significantly depoliticize the selection of SCOTUS judges. Change the tenure from a lifetime appointment to 18 years, and rotate appointments every 2 years. One-term presidents get two, and two-term presidents get four, guaranteed.

No pressure to retire (or NOT to retire), and no rush to appoint young lawyers to the bench so they can stay there as long as possible. Historically, 18 years is a term that far exceeds any other politics ... the House, Senate, and Presidency are all likely to change parties at least once during that time.

It would be a much better system, and while it would not eliminate all SCOTUS politics, it would really reduce the acrimony. Thus, it will never happen.

02-04-2010, 01:53 PM	#1
Tex Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 8,596	Supreme Court justices The rumor in the news this morning is that the White House is preparing for two more potential vacancies on the court next spring. This of course really chafes people like me, after watching George Bush only get two appointees in 8 years, and only one of them was after a retirement. I read a proposal some time ago that would significantly depoliticize the selection of SCOTUS judges. Change the tenure from a lifetime appointment to 18 years, and rotate appointments every 2 years. One-term presidents get two, and two-term presidents get four, guaranteed. No pressure to retire (or NOT to retire), and no rush to appoint young lawyers to the bench so they can stay there as long as possible. Historically, 18 years is a term that far exceeds any other politics ... the House, Senate, and Presidency are all likely to change parties at least once during that time. It would be a much better system, and while it would not eliminate all SCOTUS politics, it would really reduce the acrimony. Thus, it will never happen. __________________ "Have we been commanded not to call a prophet an insular racist? Link?" "And yes, [2010] is a very good year to be a Democrat. Perhaps the best year in decades ..." - Cali Coug "Oh dear, granny, what a long tail our puss has got." - Brigham Young