Senate Passes Resolution Opposing Change To Number Of Supreme Court Justices

• By Isaac Gleitz, TheStatehouseFile.com
• Jan 18, 2022
• INDIANAPOLIS—Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 was passed by the Indiana Senate Tuesday, aiming to send a message to Congress to keep the number of Supreme Court justices at nine.

Washington is currently facing controversy over whether the number of Supreme Court justices can and should be changed. Many of those opposed to the change refer to it as “Packing the Court.”

The resolution’s author—Sen. James Buck, R-Kokomo—said the Supreme Court is not a political body under the law.

“We hope and pray that we in some way can encourage the perception that indeed it is not a political body because the law is the law. And we can either be an activist or we can be a constructionist. And there’s a big difference,” Buck said.

Buck’s resolution takes a constructionist, or strict construction, approach because it calls for interpreting the law only as it is written. An activist approach would allow various interpretations. He has previously used former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who was also opposed to changing the number of justices before her death in 2020, to support his claim.

“We are the ones that make the law, not the court,” Buck said.

Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson, spoke against the resolution. He said he doesn’t want the nation to be locked into a set number of justices, especially if legislators can’t agree on the number.

“I don’t know exactly what the right number is, but I’d rather there be some flexibility for Congress to make that determination,” Lanane said.

Some, like Lanane, think that changes to the court should be analyzed. He said the number of justices may need to change in the future in accordance with population changes. He also said that term limits for the office should be considered. Nonetheless, he agreed with Buck that the Supreme Court has become too political.

Senate minority leader Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, also denounced the resolution and called the body to strike it down.

In the first 80 years of the Supreme Court, the number of justices changed seven times, with the count fluctuating between five and 10. In 1869, the court settled on nine justices, and the number has remained untouched since.

This isn’t the first time that the number of justices has been a partisan issue. That started with the Federalists in the early 1800s. Nor is this the first time there have been allegations of court-packing. In 1937, former President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed changing the number to 15, and much debate ensued.

The Senate resolution passed along party lines, 37-10. Jerry Torr, R-Carmel, is the resolution’s House sponsor as it moves to the other chamber.

FOOTNOTE: Isaac Gleitz is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.