Hirono, Colleagues Introduce New Supreme Court Term Limits Bill

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), joined seven of her colleagues in introducing the Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act, legislation to establish 18-year term limits and regularized appointments for Supreme Court justices. Under the senators’ legislation, a new justice would take the bench every two years and spend 18 years participating in all Supreme Court cases, after which the justice would be limited to hearing a small number of constitutionally required cases.

The Constitution requires that Supreme Court justices hear a small number of cases under the Court’s “original jurisdiction.”  These cases include a narrow category of disputes between states or foreign officials in which the Court is the first and only venue where the case is heard.  Under this legislation, all justices would continue to hear original jurisdiction cases.

The vast majority of the cases the Court hears are brought under the Court’s “appellate jurisdiction”—cases decided by lower courts that are appealed to the Supreme Court.  These include major cases like Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Shelby County v. Holder, and Citizens United v. FEC. The Constitution makes clear that the Supreme Court’s “appellate jurisdiction” is subject to any “Exceptions” or “Regulations as the Congress shall make.”  Congress has long used this authority to adjust the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction.

Under the Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act, only the nine most recently appointed justices would sit for appellate jurisdiction cases.  The justices who no longer hear appellate jurisdiction cases would retain the authority to hear original jurisdiction cases and to exercise all other powers of the office.  If one of the justices who regularly hears appellate jurisdiction cases has a conflict of interest or is otherwise unavailable to hear a case, another justice who hears only original jurisdiction cases may fill in. 

This legislation also creates regular appointments of Supreme Court justices every two years by requiring the president, within the first 120 days of the first and third years of the president’s term, to appoint one Supreme Court justice, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Americans’ rapidly declining trust and approval in the Supreme Court is the result of an effort by far-right billionaires and special interests to capture and control the Court.  The justices selected and ushered onto the Court by these special interests have repeatedly greenlighted donor-friendly policies, reshaping American life in ways that are out of step with the American people.  The cozy relationship between right-wing justices and Republican billionaire donors has been exposed by a series of explosive reports from ProPublica, The New York Times, Politico, and other media organizations on the ethics-free zone around the Court.  The Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act is an effort to depoliticize the appointment of Supreme Court justices and ensure the Court is more accountable to the American people.

The legislation is led by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Alex Padilla (D-CA). In addition to Senator Hirono, this legislation is cosponsored by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Brian Schatz (D-HI).

The full text of the bill is available here.

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Hirono has consistently championed more robust ethics and accountability for the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court. In July 2023, Senator Hirono voted to advance the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act out of committee. This legislation, which she is an original cosponsor of, would require the Supreme Court to adopt an enforceable code of ethics. Earlier this year, she introduced the Stop Judge Shopping Act, legislation to combat “judge shopping” in federal courts by giving the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia exclusive jurisdiction over cases that would have national implications. Last May, she also introduced a new version of the Twenty-First Century Court Act to promote accountability and increase transparency in federal courts. She also introduced the Judiciary Accountability Act of 2021, legislation to protect employees of the Federal judiciary from discrimination and harassment.

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