Demand Justice Statement on Announcement of Biden Plan to Establish Court Reform Commission
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2020
CONTACT: [email protected]
DEMAND JUSTICE STATEMENT ON ANNOUNCEMENT OF BIDEN PLAN TO ESTABLISH COURT REFORM COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC— Following news that Vice President Joe Biden plans to appoint a commission to study reforms to the federal courts, Demand Justice Executive Director Brian Fallon released the following statement Thursday:
“In recent weeks, Vice President Biden has gone farther than ever before to discuss the need to reform our Supreme Court, and that has been very encouraging. But the Republicans’ decision to plow forward with Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination in the midst of a national election requires a more urgent response than a study that will take 180 days to complete. We certainly do not need a commission to tell us that Republicans are on the verge of stealing their second Supreme Court seat in four years and that the Roberts Court routinely sides with voter suppression schemes that advantage the Republican party.
“This proposed commission runs the risk of stalling momentum for serious reform. The window when Democrats may have the power to implement Court reform may be short, and the timeline for a commission would only constrict the window further. Chief Justice Roberts has proven adept at keeping the Court’s public profile low whenever scrutiny mounts, and then resuming the Court’s rightward march when attention recedes. A commission that would allow opponents of structural reform to run out the clock is not a solution; it’s a punt.”
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