Finite terms for SCOTUS justices would ease 'dysfunctional politics' of nominations, editorial says
The Washington Post’s editorial board sees a connection between life tenure for Supreme Court justices and the “dysfunctional politics of judicial nominations.”
In an editorial published on Sunday, the Washington Post says the Constitution relied on life tenure to strike a balance between democratic accountability and judicial independence. But that mechanism is failing, the editorial says.
Creating a finite term for Supreme Court justices would help lower the stakes of Supreme Court nominations, the editorial says. Many high court judges in Europe have to retire at age 70. Judges on New York’s highest court have 14-year terms, while the FBI director has a 10-year term.
“Whatever the number, it should be significantly longer than either a Senate term or a presidential one,” the Post says. “But if it were shorter than ‘indefinitely,’ the political drama over every vacancy would not be quite so fevered.”
