President also says presidential immunity for crimes should be removed and ethics rules for justices should be stricter
Joe Biden has called for a series of reforms to the US Supreme Court, including the introduction of term limits for justices and a constitutional amendment to remove immunity for crimes committed by a president while in office.
In an op-ed published on Monday morning, the president said justices should be limited to a maximum of 18 years’ service on the court rather than the current lifetime appointment, and also said ethics rules should be strengthened to regulate justices’ behavior.
The call for reform comes after the supreme court ruled in early July that former presidents have some degree of immunity from prosecution, a decision that served as a major victory for Donald Trump amid his legal travails.
“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,” Biden wrote.
There’s no meaningful difference for “fearlessness” between a lifetime appointment and a set term. If they were up for a “reelection” of sorts, then that’d be something to worry about.
It’s about future prospects, assuming that once someone retires from a court position, they may want to do something else with their life asides fully retire. Only by ensuring the court appointment is permanent can you fully address that singular issue.
Note, I am not saying lifetime appointments are good or necessary, only that this is why they exist. It is not a pointless thing we should just thoughtlessly do away with, without taking these other things into account in some fashion. I think a lifetime salary would be a viable solution personally.