10-27-2020, 12:13 PM
(10-27-2020, 12:02 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: It was pointed out that historically we have had 1 justice per circuit court. For a while, the justices each spend part of their time sitting on circuit courts as well, but that eventually ended.
We kept the practice of 1 justice per circuit up until we reorganized the circuit courts and added the appellate courts.
When we expanded to a 10th circuit for the 2nd time in 1920's (we previously had 10 in 1863 but went back to 9 in 1866), we did not expand the Supreme Court back to 10 (as it was 1863-1866).
Since then, we now have 12 geographic circuits and the federal. It's possible that since the 30's, the idea of an expanded court has been too associated with FDR's desire for wanton expansion, but there's an argument rooted in historical precedent for 11 or 13 justices which I can support on a nonpartisan level.
Dollars to donuts, this will be the recommendation from the commission that Biden has said he will establish to investigate the issue.
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
