Today’s U.S. Supreme Court has nine justices, and the suggestion to increase its size seems drastic. But this is not a new idea. The Court’s size has already changed seven times. Nothing in the Constitution says it should have nine members. In fact, courts of appeals in the country base their size on the population they cover and their number of cases: The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals has six judges and the Ninth has 29.
When the Supreme Court was founded, in 1789, the U.S. population was 3.8 million and the court had six justices. Today, the population is about 345 million, meaning the country has grown by roughly nine times since the Supreme Court was last set at nine justices in 1869.
The current Supreme Court has betrayed the American people. Justices promise to rule on precedent, but time and again precedent is ignored. President Barack Obama was not allowed to appoint the justice that he was due because, supposedly, the election was coming up too soon, but then Amy Coney Barrett was squeezed in in only eight days.
The current Court’s ideas represent a minority of Americans. It needs to be enlarged to reflect the U.S. population today. Democrats should wrap their minds around enlarging the Court. When we have a trifecta, we need to get rid of the filibuster and enlarge the court. Fifteen justices? 27? I’m no legal expert, but I know that bold action is needed to save democracy. The time to be patient and timid is over.
Rachel Weinstein
Cape Elizabeth