Reigning Supreme

AN EDITED VERSION OF THIS POST APPEARED ON APRIL 14, 2012 IN THE LETTERS SECTION OF THE NEW YORK TIMES

("Bring the Justices Back to Earth")

The average life expectancy in this country is twice as long as when the first Supreme Court justices began their tenure in 1789. Of those appointed to that first court, only one sat for a decade. The average duration was less than 9 years.

Of today's bench, Justices Scalia, Kennedy and Thomas are into their third decade on the highest court. The four most recent appointees, Kagan, Roberts, Alito and Sotomayer were all born in the 1950's or 1960's. The tenure of some or all of this latest foursome may well just be in its infancy. Clearly, the contemplation of the framers of the Constitution was vastly different from the reality of the present world.

If the reasonable expectation in the late 1700's was merely that this body sit unimpeded by the pull of political tensions, what we have witnessed in recent years is something very far from that ideal. What Bush v Gore and Citizen's United have shown is a court, willing to flex its muscle in furtherance not of constitutional protection but of political preference. With the pending ruling on the fate of the Affordable Care Act, it is feared that this trend will continue with devastating result.

It is past time that we reform this system, where justices rule much as dictators, year after year, free from oversight or ethical restraint. We should apply 21st century reality to an 18th century document and restrict the length of time that any of these justices can reign.