FDR PROPOSES TO REFORM COURT
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) ) On February 5, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced proposals to Congress known as the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill. The plan called for the POTUS to appoint one new, younger judge for each federal judge with 10 years of service who did not retire or resign within 6 months after reaching the age of 70.
The President would be able to appoint no more than 6 Supreme Court Judges and no more than 2 to any lower federal court. The Supreme Court itself could be increased to as many as 15 judges.
FDR's proposals followed invalidation of some New Deal legislation by the High Court. In 1935, the Court had struck down a provision of the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) and invalidated the Railroad Retirement Act.
FDR spoke to the American people saying the Court was..."reading into the Constitution words and implications which are not there, (and called for) ...action to save the Constitution from the Court and the Court from itself."
Despite FDR's popularity, polls showed 46% of Americans were opposed to FDR's plan. The proposals quickly bogged down in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but soon the Supreme Court reversed direction and supported New Deal legislation in 3 separate cases.
The Senate voted to send FDR's proposals back to committee where it was revised to exclude provisions pertaining to the replacement of federal judges or justices. The revised bill passed Congress and was signed by the President on August 26, 1937.
FDR had suffered one of the rare defeats of his long presidency. Richard Menaker calls it "one of the stranger chapters in constitutional history."*
*What FDR did not accomplish by his 'court-packing plan', he achieved by the longevity of his presidency. In more than 12 years in office (1933-1945), he appointed 8 out of the 9 justices on the Supreme Court.
SOURCES
"FDR's Court-Packing Plan: A Study in Irony," by Richard G. Menaker, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, www.gilderlehrman.org/
"Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937," en.wikipedia.org/
United States Supreme Court (1932-1937)
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) ) On February 5, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced proposals to Congress known as the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill. The plan called for the POTUS to appoint one new, younger judge for each federal judge with 10 years of service who did not retire or resign within 6 months after reaching the age of 70.
The President would be able to appoint no more than 6 Supreme Court Judges and no more than 2 to any lower federal court. The Supreme Court itself could be increased to as many as 15 judges.
FDR's proposals followed invalidation of some New Deal legislation by the High Court. In 1935, the Court had struck down a provision of the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) and invalidated the Railroad Retirement Act.
FDR spoke to the American people saying the Court was..."reading into the Constitution words and implications which are not there, (and called for) ...action to save the Constitution from the Court and the Court from itself."
Despite FDR's popularity, polls showed 46% of Americans were opposed to FDR's plan. The proposals quickly bogged down in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but soon the Supreme Court reversed direction and supported New Deal legislation in 3 separate cases.
The Senate voted to send FDR's proposals back to committee where it was revised to exclude provisions pertaining to the replacement of federal judges or justices. The revised bill passed Congress and was signed by the President on August 26, 1937.
FDR had suffered one of the rare defeats of his long presidency. Richard Menaker calls it "one of the stranger chapters in constitutional history."*
*What FDR did not accomplish by his 'court-packing plan', he achieved by the longevity of his presidency. In more than 12 years in office (1933-1945), he appointed 8 out of the 9 justices on the Supreme Court.
SOURCES
"FDR's Court-Packing Plan: A Study in Irony," by Richard G. Menaker, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, www.gilderlehrman.org/
"Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937," en.wikipedia.org/
United States Supreme Court (1932-1937)
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