The public is skeptical about life tenure for the justices, with 60 percent agreeing with the statement that “appointing Supreme Court justices for life is a bad thing because it gives them too much power.” One-third agreed with a contrary statement, that life tenure for justices “is a good thing because it helps keep them independent from political pressures.”Perhaps when people think about it for a little longer than it takes to respond to a poll, they might realize that a lifetime appointment does not make a justice any more independent from political pressures than, say, a ten-year, non-renewable appointment would.
Despite the difficulty of amending the constitution, perhaps it is time to try again. Obviously I think Scalia, Thomas, Alito and that crowd should have limited terms, and others think Ginsberg and Breyer should be sent packing.
It might be that term limits for SC justices is the only thing the left and the right can agree on. It would be nice if this issue would get some bi-partisan high-profile champions. Perhaps there is even yet some hope for a constitutional amendment.
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