Congress Can Correct The Supreme Court

The July 26 New York Times has an interesting article on what can be done to de-politicize the court by balancing out the hard line conservatives appointed by Bush. In a nutshell, Congress has the power to "adjust" the number of justices on the court. A Democratic Congress could increase the number in order to give a Democratic president the opportunity to appoint liberal justices:

If the current five-man majority persists in thumbing its nose at popular
values, the election of a Democratic president and Congress could provide a
corrective. It requires only a majority vote in both houses to add a justice or
two. Chief Justice John Roberts and his conservative colleagues might do well to
bear in mind that the roll call of presidents who have used this option includes
not just Roosevelt but also Adams, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln and Grant.

Of course, this assumes that the Democrats win the presidency in 2008 and maintain control of both houses of congress. It also assumes that the Democrats have the political will to reverse the backward course that the Roberts Court has charted - which is not a given. It does give us some hope that the damage done by the Bush-appointed neanderthals can be limited.

Photo: "Bradley" - by Bob Russell

Jim