US President Biden wants to reform the Supreme Court – DW – July 29, 2024

Democrats will seek term limits and ethics for Supreme Court justices, a US government official said. Joe Biden also wants to propose a constitutional amendment that would make it clear that former presidents are not immune from prosecution for crimes they committed while in office. Biden's proposals must be approved by parliament, which is considered unlikely due to the majority in the US Congress. There are particularly high hurdles for constitutional change.

Against a “Crisis of Confidence”.

President of the United States However, it said the reforms were necessary “given this crisis of confidence in America's democratic institutions.” In recent years, the court has broken important precedents: for example, it has limited women's right to self-determination and provided broad immunity for crimes committed during the president's term. Ethics scandals have also raised doubts about the integrity and independence of the Supreme Court. Last year there were reports that he received expensive gifts Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas It sparked an ethical debate.

Judges on that day Supreme Court Later agreed to a code of conduct, but its enforcement is questionable. Biden wants to ensure Congress passes restrictive rules of conduct. For example, judges may be required to disclose gifts and be required to refrain from political activities in public. Legal representatives are also obliged to recuse themselves from cases where conflicts of interest arise for them or their partners.

Presidents are also subject to the law

Another thing Biden wants to realize before he leaves office has to do with presidential immunity. Even when Presidents were in office, the Constitution did not expressly exempt them. However, the Justice Department has traditionally taken the view that presidents cannot be impeached during their time in the White House, and that has real-world consequences: a few weeks ago Former President Donald Trump before the Supreme Court Achieved a historic victory: the court ruled that he enjoyed extensive immunity from prosecution for his actions as president. Biden now wants to put to a vote a constitutional amendment that would make clear that “no president is above the law,” meaning former presidents are not immune from prosecution for crimes they committed while in office.

Donald Trump He criticized Biden's plans in his usual sharp form: “Democrats are trying to destroy our justice system by meddling in the presidential election and attacking their political opponent, me and our honorable Supreme Court,” he wrote on his online site Truth Social. Trump is the Republican presidential candidate and wants to Election on November 5 Replacing Biden in the White House. Biden's running mate is expected to be the Democratic nominee Kamala Harris The 81-year-old incumbent came into the race after withdrawing from the presidential race a week ago.

haz/sti (dpa, afp, rtr)