Pumping The Brakes On Packing The Court

With Amy Coney Barrett’s Senate confirmation all but a done deal, progressives will soon find themselves staring down the barrel of a 6-3 conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.  Not only might a solidly hostile court strike down new progressive legislation, but many fear the court could undo what has become settled law, including abortion rights and same-sex marriage.  That prospect has renewed calls to exploit a quirk in the U.S. Constitution and expand the court beyond the current nine.  Elie Mystal of the Nation Magazine recently argued for expanding the court, a tactic known as “court-packing,” in an interview with WORT reporter Johan Chester.  Our next guest takes a dimmer, more cautious view of court expansion.  Joshua Braver is professor of law at the University of Wisconsin, and is the author of the 2019 paper “Court Packing: An American Tradition?,” published in the Boston College Law Review.