Biden demands major changes within the USA's Supreme Court, which has come to play a significant political role in the ongoing election campaign with several controversial rulings, including one on potential legal immunity for a former president.
The signal from the White House and Biden was clear: No one is above the law – not even a president.
We should not have any kings, said Biden.
He then launched a harsh attack on the composition of the Supreme Court and the way Republicans have appointed judges who sit for life on the Court.
I respect the Supreme Court and the principles of separation of powers, said Biden, before attacking the composition of the current Court.
81-year-old Biden, who recently announced that he will not run for re-election but instead will support his Vice President Kamala Harris, presents the reforms in a debate article in The Washington Post. In brief, they involve the following:
No Kingdom
A constitutional amendment to ensure that a former president does not enjoy immunity for crimes committed while in office. Presidential power is "limited, not absolute", writes the President with a clear address to his predecessor Donald Trump, who has been indicted four times.
The Supreme Court, where Trump appointed three of the nine judges, decided earlier this summer that presidents have immunity from prosecution if their actions are deemed to have been taken within the framework of their office.
"We are a country that follows the law – not kings or dictators", writes Biden.
Furthermore, Biden urges Congress to legislate on limited terms for Supreme Court judges, who currently sit for life. To avoid abuse of power or a single president "radically changing" the Court for generations, Biden proposes a system where the sitting president appoints a judge every other year, and they will hold the post for 18 years.
Disclose Gifts?
His third proposal concerns a code of conduct for Supreme Court judges. It includes, among other things, that they should disclose gifts, not engage in politics, and refrain from judging cases where they or their spouses may have a conflict of interest, according to a press release from the White House.
The latter comes in light of, among other things, Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas's actions. Last year, it was revealed that he had received luxury trips from one of the Republicans' top donors over a period of 20 years. Moreover, his wife participated in Donald Trump's notable manifestation on January 6, 2021, which led to the deadly storming of the Capitol. It was one of the cases that the Supreme Court took a stance on when the judges decided earlier this summer that a president enjoys some immunity from prosecution.
Biden's reforms are considered to have little chance of passing in the polarized Congress, where Republicans control the House of Representatives and Democrats have a narrow majority in the Senate. A constitutional amendment also requires a so-called supermajority, where two-thirds of Congress members vote yes, and has not been adopted in 32 years.
The Supreme Court is based in the capital Washington DC. It was established in 1789 and is the judicial power that should balance the executive (presidential office) and legislative (Congress) powers. In practice, the Court decides whether laws and judgments are in line with the US Constitution, written in 1787, and its amendments.
The Court has nine members appointed by the President for life. They can, however, retire on their own initiative and, in theory, be impeached through impeachment. The judges must be approved by a majority of Senate members.
When speaking of the Supreme Court judges as conservative or liberal, one primarily means their view on constitutional interpretation. Conservatives believe that the law text should be interpreted strictly, while liberals think that current circumstances should be taken into account.
The Republican ex-President Donald Trump nominated and got through three conservative judges: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, which means that six of the nine sitting judges are considered conservative.
Source: supremecourt.gov and others
