It has just occurred to me, after reviewing and posting Supreme Court plans today, that perhaps there is a simpler way that could better satisfy the American public.
Last year, I proposed a new Presidential election formula that would retain but reduce states' influence, making the popular vote count for more, which most people view as increasingly important.
My Federal Elector Panel plan for appointing Supreme Court judges is another plan that contains concessions to the pro-state crowd, since the President, who is chosen partly by states instead of humans, is the one who currently chooses our Justices, and therefore it makes sense to continue the state influence there.
Wouldn't it be an elegant solution for state legislatures to choose the Panel of Federal Electors (which will appoint Supreme Court and possibly other officials such as FBI director), and allow the American public to finally have one undiluted popular-vote election, for President?
And don't try to lecture me about the need for Presidential Electors. The concept was tested in 2016, and it failed the test, partly because the states and people of our country reject the concept of Presidential Electors being anything more than completely unnecessary messengers.
(Just for the record, they used the word "elector" in the Constitution the way we today use the word "voter," we know this because they referred to the people who choose Representatives as "electors," and the word "voter" does not appear in the Constitution. So it's clear to me that choosing of Presidential Electors was supposed to be choosing a local smart person, who would, with the other smart people, vote for President.)
Anyway, this compromise would keep and even strengthen the small states' influence over the Supreme Court, while allowing the majority of the American people to finally choose their own President. The Court would stay weirdly conservative, while standing independent of Presidential politics, and rotating out on a regular basis. The President would become more concerned about more people, as Presidents should be.
Friday, September 22, 2017
Supreme Court 2017, summary
Summarizing and explaining today's other post, concerning a new Panel of Federal Electors and the Supreme Court.
Millions of Americans are acting under an assumption that lifetime appointment of Supreme Court Justices is somehow necessary for the court to make independent decisions. But they are wrong. The idea of lifetime appointment would apply if they had a short term length with eligibility for reappointment, so of course, we should avoid those things.
Lifetime appointment is an idea that becomes worse as we head into a future of increasing lifespans and accelerating change. The people of the future have a right to govern themselves, and not be held decades behind by dinosaurs of supreme power. For the U.S. to remain a world leader, we need to show the people of the world that we are on the ball, current, enlightened, and not mired in outdated traditions.
The American people, unfortunately, use future Supreme Court appointments as a major criterion for choosing a President, that is, we choose Presidents according to their usefulness as Supreme Court electors. We were supposed to choose presidential Electors who then choose a President, not to use the President as an elector. The intention was for the President to set up the government, with appointment of judges being only one part of his or her expansive and important job.
Perhaps the founders did not anticipate the people's prioritization and politicization of the Supreme Court. Our present Court appointment process adversely affects the quality of our Presidents, who adversely affect the quality of the Court.
Presidents have a habit of appointing to our highest court people of little to no judicial experience. W looked around the room and decided to appoint his own attorney. When she was rejected, he appointed, for Chief Justice, a man with about two years experience. Obama's appointee, Kagan, was also green. This seems reckless to me.
Presidents want their influence on the Court to be long-lasting, so they want to appoint young people. Appointees are frequently in their 50's, so that they might serve for the next 50 years. My hope is that with a term limit we will see OLDER appointees, for their valuable career experience of having other people's lives in their hands, who will retire around a reasonable age of 75 to 80, before dementia hits, rather than 100, 110, who knows how long they can stay alive.
We must separate Court from President.
We must protect our future people from our past judges.
We must encourage the promotion of the best judges, rather than the best-connected 50-year-old lawyers.
A panel of Federal Electors will be chosen by the people, and some by legislatures of larger states, in the third June following every Presidential election. (This amendment only talks about the Supreme Court, but it is conceivable that instead of bogging down the President and Senate with hundreds of appointments they now deal with, the new federal electors could also be used to appoint federal attorneys, or other officials of public interest, such as FBI, EPA, Commander-in-chief...)
The number of electors of each state will be between one and five, based on state population. The five electors of each state with greater than 10% of the national population will cast two votes each. Electors of other states only one vote each.
Federal electors will appoint Supreme Court Alternate Judges, who will be promoted to Justice as soon as a Justice seat is vacated. Unless there is a disaster, the Court would never be short-handed again. It would eliminate the pathetic possibility of partisan politics leaving Justice seats unfilled.
In such an important job, where the vacancies are caused by random retirement and death, it is not reasonable to not have replacements ready in advance.
The sitting Supreme Court Justices will have their terms end according to the schedule laid out in the amendment. The schedule is based on tenure, on setting up somewhat even vacancy intervals, political balance, and a goal term length of fourteen years.
The court would be temporarily reduced to seven Justices in order to speed the retirement of long-serving members, maintain political balance, and to set regular rotation intervals. Future courts will once again have nine Justices.
Neil Gorsuch would become the first Justice subject to the new constitutional term limit of exactly fourteen years. It would be several more years before the firm fourteen-year limit applies to everyone, as one of the two new Justices required to bring the number back up to nine will serve extra years in order to space out the rotation schedule.
The number of alternate judges will be maintained at three. When one retires or is promoted, the electors will appoint a new alternate judge.
After a Chief Justice leaves the Court, the title of Chief Justice will be awarded in a vote among all the sitting Justices, including the alternate judge being promoted. In the case of a tie, the President shall cast a tie-breaking vote.
One thing we need to make sure is included in this plan: The right of an outgoing Panel of Electors to appoint during every minute of their term, so no one can say "you're close to the end of your term, so we might as well block you."
Millions of Americans are acting under an assumption that lifetime appointment of Supreme Court Justices is somehow necessary for the court to make independent decisions. But they are wrong. The idea of lifetime appointment would apply if they had a short term length with eligibility for reappointment, so of course, we should avoid those things.
Lifetime appointment is an idea that becomes worse as we head into a future of increasing lifespans and accelerating change. The people of the future have a right to govern themselves, and not be held decades behind by dinosaurs of supreme power. For the U.S. to remain a world leader, we need to show the people of the world that we are on the ball, current, enlightened, and not mired in outdated traditions.
The American people, unfortunately, use future Supreme Court appointments as a major criterion for choosing a President, that is, we choose Presidents according to their usefulness as Supreme Court electors. We were supposed to choose presidential Electors who then choose a President, not to use the President as an elector. The intention was for the President to set up the government, with appointment of judges being only one part of his or her expansive and important job.
Perhaps the founders did not anticipate the people's prioritization and politicization of the Supreme Court. Our present Court appointment process adversely affects the quality of our Presidents, who adversely affect the quality of the Court.
Presidents have a habit of appointing to our highest court people of little to no judicial experience. W looked around the room and decided to appoint his own attorney. When she was rejected, he appointed, for Chief Justice, a man with about two years experience. Obama's appointee, Kagan, was also green. This seems reckless to me.
Presidents want their influence on the Court to be long-lasting, so they want to appoint young people. Appointees are frequently in their 50's, so that they might serve for the next 50 years. My hope is that with a term limit we will see OLDER appointees, for their valuable career experience of having other people's lives in their hands, who will retire around a reasonable age of 75 to 80, before dementia hits, rather than 100, 110, who knows how long they can stay alive.
We must separate Court from President.
We must protect our future people from our past judges.
We must encourage the promotion of the best judges, rather than the best-connected 50-year-old lawyers.
A panel of Federal Electors will be chosen by the people, and some by legislatures of larger states, in the third June following every Presidential election. (This amendment only talks about the Supreme Court, but it is conceivable that instead of bogging down the President and Senate with hundreds of appointments they now deal with, the new federal electors could also be used to appoint federal attorneys, or other officials of public interest, such as FBI, EPA, Commander-in-chief...)
The number of electors of each state will be between one and five, based on state population. The five electors of each state with greater than 10% of the national population will cast two votes each. Electors of other states only one vote each.
Federal electors will appoint Supreme Court Alternate Judges, who will be promoted to Justice as soon as a Justice seat is vacated. Unless there is a disaster, the Court would never be short-handed again. It would eliminate the pathetic possibility of partisan politics leaving Justice seats unfilled.
In such an important job, where the vacancies are caused by random retirement and death, it is not reasonable to not have replacements ready in advance.
The sitting Supreme Court Justices will have their terms end according to the schedule laid out in the amendment. The schedule is based on tenure, on setting up somewhat even vacancy intervals, political balance, and a goal term length of fourteen years.
The court would be temporarily reduced to seven Justices in order to speed the retirement of long-serving members, maintain political balance, and to set regular rotation intervals. Future courts will once again have nine Justices.
Neil Gorsuch would become the first Justice subject to the new constitutional term limit of exactly fourteen years. It would be several more years before the firm fourteen-year limit applies to everyone, as one of the two new Justices required to bring the number back up to nine will serve extra years in order to space out the rotation schedule.
The number of alternate judges will be maintained at three. When one retires or is promoted, the electors will appoint a new alternate judge.
After a Chief Justice leaves the Court, the title of Chief Justice will be awarded in a vote among all the sitting Justices, including the alternate judge being promoted. In the case of a tie, the President shall cast a tie-breaking vote.
One thing we need to make sure is included in this plan: The right of an outgoing Panel of Electors to appoint during every minute of their term, so no one can say "you're close to the end of your term, so we might as well block you."
Proposed Amendment, Supreme Court and Federal Electors Panel
(Note: rather than attempting a rewrite of a whole Article, this is presented as a plan, in a somewhat rough draft, not nearly as polished as last year's Article II.)
Index:
Federal Elector Panel,
Scheduled Elections and Retirements,
Future Appointments and Term Limit
-
Supreme Court- ending lifetime appointments, appointing judges in advance, removing the responsibility from the President
Federal Elector Panel:
Justices will be appointed to the Supreme Court by a panel of Federal Electors, who will be chosen by the People of each state and the District of Columbia, and the governments of the larger states.
The first election of Federal Electors will be held in early June, the first June after adoption of this amendment, except in the event that the amendment is adopted in April, May, or June, the election will be postponed until the following June. In the event that the election would land in a presidential election year, the election will be postponed until the following June. All subsequent elections of Federal Electors will occur according to the following rules.
A national election day for the People to choose Federal Electors will be held in early June, the third June after every presidential election. If there are two presidential elections in the same interval between election of Federal Electors, the above rule still holds. The term of previous Federal Electors ends upon the swearing in of their successors, except for the terms scheduled herein to end on specified dates.
The People of each State having a population, as measured by the last census, of less than or equal to 1% of the total population of the States plus the District of Columbia, will choose, and the People of the District of Columbia, will choose one Federal Elector from one field of candidates in each State or District, and one Alternate Elector from a second field of candidates, to serve should the Elector be unable. These small states will have only a Peoples' vote, and the state or district governments will not vote. Their Federal Elector will have one vote.
The People of each state having a population of greater than one percent, and less than or equal to five percent of the population of the states plus D.C., will elect two Electors from one field of candidates, by each voter choosing one candidate, and the two with the most votes win. The same method will apply to a second field of candidates, from which two Alternates will be elected. The Alternate having received more votes would replace the Elector having received more votes, and the Alternate having received fewer votes would replace the Elector having fewer votes, should an Elector resign, die, or be otherwise unable to perform the duties of an Elector. The legislatures of these middle-sized states will also choose, after January 31, and before May 1 of the election year, one Elector and one corresponding Alternate, and if they fail to choose before the deadline, their state will be short an Elector. These states may be represented by no more than 3 Federal Electors, who will have one vote each.
The People of each state having a population greater than five percent, but less than or equal to ten percent of the population of the states plus D.C., will elect three Electors from one field of candidates, by each voter choosing up to two candidates, and the three with the most votes win. The same method will apply to a second field of candidates, from which three Alternates will be elected. The Alternate having received the most votes would replace the Elector having received the most votes, and the Alternate having received the fewest votes would replace the Elector having the fewest votes, should an Elector resign, die, or be otherwise unable to perform the duties of an Elector. The legislatures of these larger states will also choose, after January 31, and before May 1 of the election year, two Electors and two corresponding Alternates, and if they fail to choose before the deadline, their state may remain short of Electors. These states may be represented by no more than five Federal Electors, who will have one vote each.
Each state having a population greater than ten percent of the population of the states plus D.C. will also choose five Federal Electors and Alternates in the same way. Electors of these states will each have two votes when choosing Judges, both of which must be cast together for the same Judge, while all other Electors will each have one vote.
Scheduled Elections and Retirements:
Justices of the Supreme Court, upon adoption of this amendment, will no longer be entitled to a lifetime term, and will leave the Court upon expiration of their terms, as specified herein.
The term of Justice Anthony Kennedy is scheduled to end upon the swearing in of his replacement, who will be chosen by the President within 30 days of the adoption of this amendment, and who, without a vote of disapproval of the Senate within 30 days of nomination, will join the Court, and serve a term of no more than fourteen years.
The term of Justice Clarence Thomas, and the term of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, are both scheduled to end on the 90th day following the adoption of this amendment. These two seats will remain unfilled until after the fourth panel of Federal Electors has been elected.
The first panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine which of them will become the next Justice. The first panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at seven, and the number of Alternate Judges at one. The first panel may appoint no more than three Judges in two years, or four Judges in three years, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the next Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Stephen Breyer is scheduled to end at noon, December 1, during the first year of the first panel of Federal Electors.
The term of Justice John Roberts is scheduled to end at noon, December 1, during the second year of the first panel of Federal Electors.
The second election of Federal Electors will be held two years after the first election of Federal Electors, except that the election will be postponed for one year if it would otherwise fall upon a presidential election year.
The second panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine the order of their ascention to Justice. The second panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at seven, and the Alternate Judges at two, and they will appoint no more than three Judges in two years, or four Judges in three years, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the third Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Samuel Alito is scheduled to end at noon, March 1, 2024.
The third election of Federal Electors will be held two years after the second election of Federal Electors, except that the election will be postponed for one year if it would otherwise fall upon a presidential election year.
The third panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges to temporarily raise their number to four, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine the order of their ascention to Justice. The third panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at seven, and the Alternate Judges at three, and they will appoint no more than four Judges, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the fourth Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Sonia Sotomayor is scheduled to end at noon, December 1, 2025.
The term of Justice Elena Kagan is scheduled to end at noon, March 1, 2027.
The fourth election of Federal Electors will be held Four years after the third election of Federal Electors, except that the election will be postponed for one year if it would otherwise fall upon a presidential election year.
The fourth panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine the order of their ascention to Justice.
The seats formerly held by Justices Thomas and Ginsburg will be filled on July 15 following the election of the fourth panel of Federal Electors, restoring the number of Supreme Court Justices to nine.
The seat formerly held by Justice Thomas will be filled first, and this new Justice will be scheduled for a term of thirteen years, eight and one half months, to end at noon, April 1.
The seat formerly held by Justice Ginsburg will be filled second, and this new Justice will be scheduled for a term of seventeen years, four months, and seventeen days, to end at noon, December 1.
The fourth panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at nine, and the Alternate Judges at three, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the fifth Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Neil Gorsuch is scheduled to end at noon, April 10, 2031. This will be the first term restricted to the new standard of fourteen years.
Future Appointments and Term Limit:
Justices of the Supreme Court will retain their Justice seat, in good behavior, for one term of fourteen years. Upon their resignation, inability, death, removal from office, or expiration of their term, the next Alternate Judge will immediately ascend to full Justice.
A person appointed or elected to the Supreme Court will first serve as an Alternate Judge, who will observe court sessions, but will not participate, except with the consent of a Justice who is absent or recused. Such consent must specify the cases in which the absent or recused Justice will not participate, and the Alternate Judge, having received consent, will remain a participating Justice on and will rule on said cases, and will return to the role of Alternate upon completion of the same cases.
An Alternate Judge will ascend to Associate Justice to fill a vacancy on the Court.
The role of Chief Justice, being unfilled, will be filled by a vote of the Associate Justices choosing one of their own ranks to be Chief. If there were empty seats of the Court at the time of choosing a new Chief, there will be another vote held after all the Justice seats are filled. In the event of a tie, the acting President of the United States will vote to break the tie.
Index:
Federal Elector Panel,
Scheduled Elections and Retirements,
Future Appointments and Term Limit
-
Supreme Court- ending lifetime appointments, appointing judges in advance, removing the responsibility from the President
Federal Elector Panel:
Justices will be appointed to the Supreme Court by a panel of Federal Electors, who will be chosen by the People of each state and the District of Columbia, and the governments of the larger states.
The first election of Federal Electors will be held in early June, the first June after adoption of this amendment, except in the event that the amendment is adopted in April, May, or June, the election will be postponed until the following June. In the event that the election would land in a presidential election year, the election will be postponed until the following June. All subsequent elections of Federal Electors will occur according to the following rules.
A national election day for the People to choose Federal Electors will be held in early June, the third June after every presidential election. If there are two presidential elections in the same interval between election of Federal Electors, the above rule still holds. The term of previous Federal Electors ends upon the swearing in of their successors, except for the terms scheduled herein to end on specified dates.
The People of each State having a population, as measured by the last census, of less than or equal to 1% of the total population of the States plus the District of Columbia, will choose, and the People of the District of Columbia, will choose one Federal Elector from one field of candidates in each State or District, and one Alternate Elector from a second field of candidates, to serve should the Elector be unable. These small states will have only a Peoples' vote, and the state or district governments will not vote. Their Federal Elector will have one vote.
The People of each state having a population of greater than one percent, and less than or equal to five percent of the population of the states plus D.C., will elect two Electors from one field of candidates, by each voter choosing one candidate, and the two with the most votes win. The same method will apply to a second field of candidates, from which two Alternates will be elected. The Alternate having received more votes would replace the Elector having received more votes, and the Alternate having received fewer votes would replace the Elector having fewer votes, should an Elector resign, die, or be otherwise unable to perform the duties of an Elector. The legislatures of these middle-sized states will also choose, after January 31, and before May 1 of the election year, one Elector and one corresponding Alternate, and if they fail to choose before the deadline, their state will be short an Elector. These states may be represented by no more than 3 Federal Electors, who will have one vote each.
The People of each state having a population greater than five percent, but less than or equal to ten percent of the population of the states plus D.C., will elect three Electors from one field of candidates, by each voter choosing up to two candidates, and the three with the most votes win. The same method will apply to a second field of candidates, from which three Alternates will be elected. The Alternate having received the most votes would replace the Elector having received the most votes, and the Alternate having received the fewest votes would replace the Elector having the fewest votes, should an Elector resign, die, or be otherwise unable to perform the duties of an Elector. The legislatures of these larger states will also choose, after January 31, and before May 1 of the election year, two Electors and two corresponding Alternates, and if they fail to choose before the deadline, their state may remain short of Electors. These states may be represented by no more than five Federal Electors, who will have one vote each.
Each state having a population greater than ten percent of the population of the states plus D.C. will also choose five Federal Electors and Alternates in the same way. Electors of these states will each have two votes when choosing Judges, both of which must be cast together for the same Judge, while all other Electors will each have one vote.
Scheduled Elections and Retirements:
Justices of the Supreme Court, upon adoption of this amendment, will no longer be entitled to a lifetime term, and will leave the Court upon expiration of their terms, as specified herein.
The term of Justice Anthony Kennedy is scheduled to end upon the swearing in of his replacement, who will be chosen by the President within 30 days of the adoption of this amendment, and who, without a vote of disapproval of the Senate within 30 days of nomination, will join the Court, and serve a term of no more than fourteen years.
The term of Justice Clarence Thomas, and the term of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, are both scheduled to end on the 90th day following the adoption of this amendment. These two seats will remain unfilled until after the fourth panel of Federal Electors has been elected.
The first panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine which of them will become the next Justice. The first panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at seven, and the number of Alternate Judges at one. The first panel may appoint no more than three Judges in two years, or four Judges in three years, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the next Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Stephen Breyer is scheduled to end at noon, December 1, during the first year of the first panel of Federal Electors.
The term of Justice John Roberts is scheduled to end at noon, December 1, during the second year of the first panel of Federal Electors.
The second election of Federal Electors will be held two years after the first election of Federal Electors, except that the election will be postponed for one year if it would otherwise fall upon a presidential election year.
The second panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine the order of their ascention to Justice. The second panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at seven, and the Alternate Judges at two, and they will appoint no more than three Judges in two years, or four Judges in three years, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the third Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Samuel Alito is scheduled to end at noon, March 1, 2024.
The third election of Federal Electors will be held two years after the second election of Federal Electors, except that the election will be postponed for one year if it would otherwise fall upon a presidential election year.
The third panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges to temporarily raise their number to four, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine the order of their ascention to Justice. The third panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at seven, and the Alternate Judges at three, and they will appoint no more than four Judges, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the fourth Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Sonia Sotomayor is scheduled to end at noon, December 1, 2025.
The term of Justice Elena Kagan is scheduled to end at noon, March 1, 2027.
The fourth election of Federal Electors will be held Four years after the third election of Federal Electors, except that the election will be postponed for one year if it would otherwise fall upon a presidential election year.
The fourth panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine the order of their ascention to Justice.
The seats formerly held by Justices Thomas and Ginsburg will be filled on July 15 following the election of the fourth panel of Federal Electors, restoring the number of Supreme Court Justices to nine.
The seat formerly held by Justice Thomas will be filled first, and this new Justice will be scheduled for a term of thirteen years, eight and one half months, to end at noon, April 1.
The seat formerly held by Justice Ginsburg will be filled second, and this new Justice will be scheduled for a term of seventeen years, four months, and seventeen days, to end at noon, December 1.
The fourth panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at nine, and the Alternate Judges at three, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the fifth Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Neil Gorsuch is scheduled to end at noon, April 10, 2031. This will be the first term restricted to the new standard of fourteen years.
Future Appointments and Term Limit:
Justices of the Supreme Court will retain their Justice seat, in good behavior, for one term of fourteen years. Upon their resignation, inability, death, removal from office, or expiration of their term, the next Alternate Judge will immediately ascend to full Justice.
A person appointed or elected to the Supreme Court will first serve as an Alternate Judge, who will observe court sessions, but will not participate, except with the consent of a Justice who is absent or recused. Such consent must specify the cases in which the absent or recused Justice will not participate, and the Alternate Judge, having received consent, will remain a participating Justice on and will rule on said cases, and will return to the role of Alternate upon completion of the same cases.
An Alternate Judge will ascend to Associate Justice to fill a vacancy on the Court.
The role of Chief Justice, being unfilled, will be filled by a vote of the Associate Justices choosing one of their own ranks to be Chief. If there were empty seats of the Court at the time of choosing a new Chief, there will be another vote held after all the Justice seats are filled. In the event of a tie, the acting President of the United States will vote to break the tie.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)