(The Guardian) 'No one is above the law': Biden calls for supreme court reform plans
Joe Biden has called for a series of reforms to to the supreme court, including the introduction of 18-year term limits and a binding code of conduct for justices.
Biden, in an op-ed for the Washington Post, also called for a constitutional amendment to remove immunity for crimes committed by a president while in office.
The proposed amendment, titled the “No One Is Above the Law Amendment”, comes after the supreme court’s ruling earlier this month that Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts” he committed as president.
In the op-ed published today, Biden wrote: This nation was founded on a simple yet profound principle: No one is above the law. Not the president of the United States. Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. No one.
Joe Biden, in an op-ed this morning, said supreme court justices should be limited to a maximum of 18 years’ service rather than the current lifetime appointment, under a system where a new justice would be appointed to the court by the serving president every two years.
The president also called for stricter, enforceable rules on conduct which would require justices to disclose gifts, refrain from political activity, and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial interest.
Last week Justice Elena Kagan called for the court to strengthen the ethics code it introduced in 2023 by adding a way to enforce it.
That code was introduced after a spate of scandals involving rightwing justices on the court: Clarence Thomas was found to have accepted vacations and travel from a Republican mega-donor, while Samuel Alito flew on a private jet owned by an influential billionaire on the way to a fishing trip.
Joe Biden has called for a series of reforms to to the supreme court, including the introduction of 18-year term limits and a binding code of conduct for justices.
Biden, in an op-ed for the Washington Post, also called for a constitutional amendment to remove immunity for crimes committed by a president while in office.
The proposed amendment, titled the “No One Is Above the Law Amendment”, comes after the supreme court’s ruling earlier this month that Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts” he committed as president.
In the op-ed published today, Biden wrote: This nation was founded on a simple yet profound principle: No one is above the law. Not the president of the United States. Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. No one.
Joe Biden, in an op-ed this morning, said supreme court justices should be limited to a maximum of 18 years’ service rather than the current lifetime appointment, under a system where a new justice would be appointed to the court by the serving president every two years.
The president also called for stricter, enforceable rules on conduct which would require justices to disclose gifts, refrain from political activity, and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial interest.
Last week Justice Elena Kagan called for the court to strengthen the ethics code it introduced in 2023 by adding a way to enforce it.
That code was introduced after a spate of scandals involving rightwing justices on the court: Clarence Thomas was found to have accepted vacations and travel from a Republican mega-donor, while Samuel Alito flew on a private jet owned by an influential billionaire on the way to a fishing trip.
