Following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who served as the Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States for over 27 years, Democrats are endorsing the idea of expanding the highest court in the United States beyond its current nine seats, that is court packing.

Under President Donald Trump’s tenure, the current court is already considered one of the most conservative-leaning in history. If Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed, Democrats would face a 6-3 conservative majority and the court seems to be an obvious solution to that. 

What is court packing?

Court packing refers to increasing the size of the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States, which can be done by passing a law. Initially, the Judiciary Act of 1789 had created a six-member court. However, the strength has remained at nine justices for about 151 years from when the Judiciary Act was approved in 1869.

How are the Supreme Court judges appointed?

The President of the US nominates the judges who are then confirmed by the Senate (the upper chamber of the US Congress). Unlike in India, where judges have a fixed retirement age, federal judges can serve for life in the US.

Why are the Democrats considering court  packing?

At present, the Republicans control both the Senate and the presidency, which is bothering some Democrats. Following the death of Ginsburg’s , the Supreme Court now has five justices that were nominated by a Republican president and three that were nominated by a Democratic president, therefore the court already has a conservative majority and the Democrats are worried that the court will get even more conservative after Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to fill Ginsburg’s seat. 

Democrats have called out Trump for pushing the vote for the nomination during an election year since the Republicans in the Senate had refused to consider former US President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, after Justice Scalia passed away in 2016.

Will the Democrats go forward with it?

Biden has already revealed that he is not that big a fan of court packing. Indian Express reported Biden quoting Iowa Starting Line, saying, “I would not get into court packing. We add three justices. Next time around we lose control, they add three justices. We begin to lose any credibility the court has at all.”

(Making sense of the US elections can be a bit baffling. Opoyi explainers help you navigate laws and processes by answering some frequently asked questions.)