Supreme Court Reform: Examining Key Issues and Proposals

Last Updated: April 20, 2022

Author: Catherine Rowland, Legislative Affairs Director (catherine@progressivecaucuscenter.org)

Overview

The U.S. Supreme Court has major decisions pending on cases related to abortion, religion, gun violence prevention, climate, and more, as well as a new justice—Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson—recently confirmed by the Senate. The Court is also poised to make a number of consequential and, undoubtedly, polarizing rulings later this year. While the stakes around matters before the Court have never been higher, its legitimacy in the eyes of the public has never been lower. A September 2021 Gallup poll found that just 40 percent of Americans approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing, which is an all-time low. This finding came shortly after the Supreme Court allowed a Texas law instituting a near-total ban on abortion to remain in place (Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson), a ruling most Americans opposed. The Court’s crisis of legitimacy has profound implications for American democracy. As Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr. wrote in his 2021 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, “public trust is essential, not incidental, to our function.”

As lawmakers, scholars, advocates, and even the White House have grappled with the question of how to restore the Court’s legitimacy, myriad recommendations have emerged. Among the most discussed are proposed reforms concerning the Court’s size and justices’ ethical conduct. This explainer will put these proposals into context, examine the issues that precipitated them, and highlight legislation Congress might consider to make them a reality.