Supreme Court Reforms Needed to Ensure Equal Justice for All

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick McNeil, [email protected]

WASHINGTON — Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement after President Biden and Vice President Harris announced support for certain Supreme Court reforms:

“The extremist majority of this Supreme Court has been supremely ideological and ignored decades of its own rulings. For the first time in the history of the Court, it has rolled back a fundamental right — the right to abortion. It has significantly curtailed our voting rights and struck a blow to our multiracial democracy — making it easier to discriminate in drawing electoral lines, rolling back affirmative action in higher education, and disrupting how our federal government functions. It has even conferred monarchical powers onto the U.S. presidency with an indefensible decision on presidential immunity, even if that president is motivated to abuse power to undermine our democracy by violating our criminal laws. The decisions handed down by an extremist majority have undermined its own credibility with the American people, thanks in no small measure to the lengths they’ve gone in their decisions and to the very real questions of ethical violations, particularly by Justices Alito and Thomas. Today, President Biden, an outgoing president, has taken a firm position to bring credibility and measure to a Supreme Court that requires structural reform.

“For decades, our coalition has understood that the decisions made by lifetime federal judges and Supreme Court justices are central to our ability to live free and full lives where our civil and human rights are respected. The discussion that President Biden and Vice President Harris are continuing today is not an academic or theoretical one. Rather, it is fundamentally about humanity and dignity — and it is about who our courts serve and recognize as worthy of having their rights protected.

“The president’s announcement of support of term limits for service on the Supreme Court is an important step toward modernizing and bringing more predictability to our nation’s highest court. This is one — of many — crucial structural changes that we should be seeking to make sure the Court delivers on the promise of equal justice for all. The president’s call that no one is above the law is sadly necessary. This also means that judges and justices are not above the law. A binding and enforceable code of conduct for Supreme Court justices is also sadly necessary because the unenforceable code released by the Court itself in November 2023 has been insufficient to prevent justices from violating it.

“Elected leaders must continue the critical work of pursuing avenues to make our courts, including the Supreme Court, fairer for all people in America. The need for serious and immediate action on judicial ethics has been proven repeatedly in recent years, and Congress must finally address this emergency.

“Thanks to this administration, we have made progress in our pursuit of a more diverse bench that can help deliver the equal justice we need for our democracy to thrive. With 202 lifetime confirmations to date, we now have a more demographically and professionally diverse bench, including 129 women, 127 people of color including Native Americans, and more than 85 individuals who possess significant experience protecting civil and human rights. We have more work to do right now. The administration and our senators must continue the urgent work of filling the remaining vacancies by selecting, nominating, and confirming professionally and demographically diverse lifetime judges who are committed to civil and human rights. A federal judiciary staffed with as many fair-minded and ethical judges as possible is a critically important component of protecting our democracy and our hard-won civil rights gains — especially as the nation continues to feel the effects of a long-term, well-funded agenda to use our courts to roll back our rights and upend our most basic freedoms.

“Like each pillar of our federal government, the judiciary has a responsibility to heed the call to safeguard our democracy and honor our nation’s highest ideals of justice, fairness, and inclusion. And our elected leaders must thoroughly explore all options to create a Supreme Court that works for all of us. The time for real action to make our democracy and our Court work for everyone is now.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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