Here’s another question. Is the Supreme Court too political and or ideological? I am coming to conclude that it is.
The judiciary is the branch of the federal government that is most technocratic and, consequently, least democratic. We will never have an apolitical judiciary; all human activities are political as was pointed out more than two millennia ago. I do think it is possible for it to be less political and less ideological than at present. I just have no idea of how to accomplish that. Expanding, i.e. “padding” the Supreme Court won’t accomplish that nor will shortening their terms. As usual I blame the Congress.
The political activism and IMO foolish actions of Justice Thomas’s wife have not pushed me over the edge. She is not the first judicial spouse to be a political activist and won’t be the last. But they are certainly additional data points.
Why not abolish the Supreme Court? Or replace it with jurimetrics? And why has the Congress never limited the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court?
Shortening the term would at least mean that we wouldn’t end up with people with little experience in their 40s on the court. We could also, at least in theory, end up with long periods with the make up of the court being too different from hat of the country.
Steve