Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States
US commission of 2021
The Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States (PCSCOTUS), also known informally as the Supreme Court commission, was a Presidential Commission established by U.S. President Joe Biden to investigate the idea of reforming the Supreme Court. It was slated to provide a nonpartisan analysis of "the principal arguments in the contemporary public debate for and against Supreme Court reform".
The commission issued its final report on December 8, 2021, which reviewed various legal questions about the Supreme Court. It did not recommend major changes to the operation of the Court, and no reforms resulted from the commission.
Origins
Politicization of the Supreme Court
Months before the commission was established, Amy Coney Barrett had been nominated to the Supreme Court by then-president Donald Trump. This nomination was controversial. In 2016, Republicans had invoked the informal and seldom-used Thurmond rule to block the nomination of Merrick Garland, based on its proximity to a presidential election. Garland's nomination had come nearly 10 months before the 2016 United States presidential election. However, Trump's nomination of Barrett came just over one month before the 2020 United States presidential election, and was appointed to the court. Many Democrats interpreted this as unjust, and proof of politicization in Supreme Court nominations.
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