Witham: Limits on Supreme Court are bad idea

We have heard President Joe Biden announce that term limits are needed for our Supreme Court, along with an enforceable ethics code for the court. He apparently has not read or does not want to look at our U.S. Constitution. If he did, he would realize that this is impossible without amending the Constitution. I would presume that this is an attempt to establish a legacy for a lame-duck administration.

The genius of our democratic, republican government lies with the three branches of government — Congress, the executive branch and the judiciary. Each has exclusive power granted by the Constitution. Article 3 established the judicial power of the United States in one Supreme Court, with justices who hold their offices during good behavior. Congress may establish inferior courts, control jurisdiction and have the power to impeach. The president has the authority to appoint all our federal officers, including the justices of the Supreme Court. So, the Supreme and inferior courts retain their authority to decide cases for life. Neither the president nor Congress has the power to establish an ethics code or control terms of service because those branches lack the power. To have the power would require a constitutional amendment.

Alexander Hamilton wrote in “Federalist No. 78” that the judiciary “was the weakest of the three departments.” He warned that “periodical appointments” of federal judges would “be fatal to their necessary independence” and that judges should not have “too great a disposition to consult popularity.” Knowing that a judge has a lifetime appointment, free from partisan influence, generates wisdom that term limits would swiftly eradicate. Our Founders believed that democratic control granted to the president and Congress in the nomination and confirmation process would be sufficient to ensure that only wise and legally experienced judges would be appointed. We sometimes can question that judgment, but overall, the process has been historically successful.

We cannot allow our federal bench to be influenced by anything other than a faithful reliance on our Constitution to decide cases. This is why the independence of the courts must be faithfully enforced.

William L. Witham Jr.

Dover

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