Term Limit for U.S. Supreme Court Judges
Term Limit for U.S. Supreme Court Judges
Why this petition matters
Term Limit of 8 Years followed by Re Confirmation by the Senate.
The supreme court of the United States of America consists of the Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices.
Each justice has lifetime tenure, meaning they remain on the court until they die, retire, resign, or are removed from office.
When a vacancy occurs, the president, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoints a new justice. Each justice has a single vote in deciding the cases argued before the court.
Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, known as the Appointments Clause, empowers the president to nominate and, with the confirmation of the United States Senate, to appoint justices of the Supreme Court.
The Constitution (Article Three, Section 1) provides that justices may serve for the remainder of their lives, unless they are impeached and convicted by Congress, resign, or retire.
Among the current members of the court, Clarence Thomas is the longest-serving justice, with a tenure of 30 years, as of May 12, 2022.
In the true spirit of Democracy, we should consider a term limit for the Supreme Court justices.
The term should last for 8 years after which they will need to be re confirmed by the US Senate for another 8 years.
The Justices are doing a great job in deligently deciding all issues that are brought to them.
However, Justices that have been appointed 30 years or 20 years ago may not be able to fully grasp the current pulse of the nation.
Their decisions are based on the opinions and beliefs that were prevalant at the time of their appointment.
A term limit of 8 years followed by a Senate re confirmation will ensure that we have Justices that are fully in sink with the current environment of the country and it's people. That is true democracy.
Democracy involves electing and re-electing representatives based on the current needs of the people and the nation.