Posted on 10/14/24
| News Source: FOX45
Baltimore, MD - Oct. 14, 2024 - Reforming the United States Supreme Court has become a topic of debate among elected leaders in Washington, and on the campaign trail, especially in the race for Maryland’s open U.S. Senate race.
During the first – and only – debate among Democrat and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Republican and former Gov. Larry Hogan, the candidates were asked where they stand on expanding the highest court in the land, or ‘packing the court’, among other reforms.
“I’m very concerned about this Supreme Court. I think they no longer represent the will of the people,” she said. “I do support reforms of the Supreme Court, one of them would be to have term limits. I also agree with the notion of expanding the Supreme Court.”
Hogan drew a contrast during the debate, by criticizing both parties for “politicizing the Supreme Court.”
“If there’s one thing that we should not be politicizing is the Supreme Court, and it has been politicized by both sides,” he said.
Monday during a campaign event in Baltimore County, Alsobrooks brought it up again, echoing her belief that ethics laws need to be strengthened and floated the idea of expanding the number of justices.
During a gaggle with reporters, Alsobrooks made it clear that she’s “open to all of it,” referring to several reforms that have been floated. She noted that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have floated several options and added that her notion of Supreme Court expansion is nothing new.
“I think that the Supreme Court as we’ve looked at it now, the decisions that they have made have certainly that are ones that have raised concerns with so many, from the immunity decisions and others that seem to be designed to aid President Trump politically,” Alsobrooks said. “I think that’s been a huge concern for us and I think we ought to be looking at it and again, the ethical lapses that we’ve seen with Justices Clarence Thomas and Alito, there have been some concerns.”
In July 2024, President Biden announced several plans to “reform the Supreme Court,” that included a call for a constitutional amendment to ensure no president would have immunity from prosecutions from crimes committed while in office.
President Biden also announced his support for term limits for justices; the current President of the United States would appoint a justice every two years to then spend 18 years in active service on the Supreme Court, per a White House Fact Sheet released.
President Biden also announced his support for a “binding code of conduct” for the justices, requiring them to disclose gifts, stay out of public political activity, and recuse themselves from cases whenever there is a conflict in which the justice, or their spouse, have financial or other interests.
When asked how to expand the court without it benefiting either major political party, Alsobrooks said it was something that needed to be explored.
“I think that is something that should be looked at,” she said. “I think there was a group that was studying that, I would be interested in knowing what their findings were so that we could look at a way to make sure that the Supreme Court is a fair and impartial body, and they are interpreting the law in a way that was intended.”