WASHINGTON — Ron Wyden, Oregon's senior U.S. senator, introduced legislation Thursday that would overhaul the U.S. Supreme Court and "restore public trust" in the institution, his office said in a statement.
The "Judicial Modernization and Transparency Act" would make a number of significant changes to the highest court and the federal circuit courts beneath it, including an overall expansion of the court itself.
"The Supreme Court is in crisis and bold solutions are necessary to restore the public trust," Wyden said. "More transparency, more accountability and more checks on a power hungry Supreme Court are just what the American people are asking for."
Under Wyden's proposal, the U.S. Supreme Court would expand from nine justices to 15, although that expansion would happen gradually over a period of 12 years. Over the next three terms, the sitting president would be empowered to appoint a new nominee in the first and third years of each term.
The bill would also limit the court's ability to overrule the legislative branch by requiring a supermajority for decisions that overturn acts of Congress on a constitutional basis. This would apply to both the Supreme Court and federal circuit courts.
Additionally, relief granted by lower courts in cases seeking to overturn an act of Congress would expire as soon as the Supreme Court issues its opinion in the case.
Wyden's bill would also seek to countermand the ability of congressional leaders to block hearings on Supreme Court nominations, as then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell famously did to Obama nominee Merrick Garland in 2016, near the end of the president's second term.
Instead, the bill would "establish a new process" whereby nominations not passed through committee within 180 calendar days would automatically be placed on the Senate calendar.
Finally, the bill would also expand the number of circuit and district court judges "to improve access to justice," according to Wyden's office.
Ethics and transparency
A second part of the bill would require greater transparency and accountability for the Supreme Court. It would require that all justices consider recusal motions and make their written opinions publicly available, and the court majority could vote to recuse a justice from a case.
The bill would also require the public disclosure of how each justice voted for any case within the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
Further, the IRS would be required to audit each justice's tax return soon after filing, with returns publicly released within 90 days. Every 180 days, the IRS would be required to update the public on the status of the audit, and release the final findings upon conclusion.
Court nominees would also need to include their most recent three years of tax returns in their public financial disclosure filings. If they are not disclosed within 15 days of nomination, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts would be directed to obtain the returns from the Secretary of the Treasury and make them public, redacting any personal identity information.
The state of court reform
Despite repeat calls, particularly from Democrats, for reforms to the U.S. Supreme Court in light of a series of controversial decisions and ethics scandals on the current conservative-majority court, the concept has thus far gained little traction in Congress. Democrats only narrowly control the Senate and Republicans maintain control of the House.
In July, President Joe Biden outlined his own, more modest proposal for court reform. He proposed term limits for justices, with a president limited to appointing justices every two years for 18-year terms. The Supreme Court would also need to abide by the same binding code of conduct as other federal judges — disclosing gifts, refraining from public political activity, and recusing themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have a conflict of interest.
Biden's plan also included a proposed constitutional amendment stipulating that a president is not immune from prosecution for crimes committed while in office, contrary to a Supreme Court ruling this year that handed U.S. presidents broad immunity for practically all official acts.
Wyden, also in July, made his own attempt to rein in the Supreme Court by introducing a bill to provide Congress with new authority to overturn judicial decisions "that clearly undermine the congressional intent of laws." He also introduced a bill to end the practice of "judge shopping," where plaintiffs can bring their cases before judges they have reason to believe will hand down favorable rulings.