Should Supreme Court Justices have Term Limits?
Supreme Court Justices should have term limits. The appointment of justices to serve for life increases their power to an extent of threatening the “checks and balances” concept of the government (Lazarus, 2004). The judiciary branch of government is given more power than the executive and legislature. In addition, the Supreme Court is given far too much power without any accountability to the people. This makes the courts to become opaque, imperious and isolated.
A very important aspect of life terms is that they guarantee a lasting legacy of the current president’s laws and terms (Lazarus, 2004). Presidents often appoint judges with whom they share similar interests. The party in power uses the chance to protect its ideologies and, possibly, suppress the ideologies of the opposing parties. There is a tendency for presidents to name very young and inexperienced judges with similar ideologies to the bench with the hope that they will get out of office when the favored party has regained power. The young appointed judges are used as political tools. They sit on the bench for many years with the hope of leaving office when successors have been appointed again. The main rationale behind life tenure is that judges will become immune to political and social pressures. However, this is not a guarantee. Judges are still capable of being influenced by the factors surrounding them.
The third reason against life terms is that they keep justices in office far past their prime (Lazarus, 2004). There is a danger in assuming that longevity guarantees good service. Life tenure creates challenges by the fact that sitting judges may suffer loss in mental capacity or energy. They may also become disturbed or disabled, and eventually fail to think rationally. This compromises with their effectiveness and productivity. Life terms also allow bad judges to sit on the bench indefinitely, with a very low possibility of impeachment.
Reference
Lazarus, E. (2004). Life tenure for federal judges: should it be abolished? FindLaw. Retrieved from: http://writ.news.findlaw.com/lazarus/20041209.html
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