Dear John,

The Supreme Court is out of control and needs serious reform. Whether it’s failing to recuse in cases with conflicts of interest, publicly supporting insurrectionists who tried to subvert the peaceful transfer of power, or receiving millions of dollars worth of grift -- er, gifts -- from billionaires, this Supreme Court has shown that it needs guardrails -- ASAP!

In his opinion piece for The New York Times, President Biden recommended two especially crucial reforms: a binding and enforceable code of ethics to address conflicts of interest and 18-year term limits for justices, with two justices to be appointed each presidential term. After 18 years of active service, justices would become Senior Justices, filling temporary vacancies.

Now Senator Ron Wyden has introduced the Judicial Modernization and Transparency Act (JMTA), which seeks to restore balance between the judicial, executive, and legislative branches of government. This bill would increase transparency and the number of judges at each level.

Send a direct message to your senators: Support and pass the Judicial Modernization and Transparency Act now!

The JMTA includes a number of highly desirable features to increase the court’s accountability to ethical standards. It will:

• Establish a binding and enforceable code of ethics for Supreme Court justices, similar to the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges that applies to every other judge in the country

• Require the timely consideration of Supreme Court nominees by the Senate. No longer will the Senate majority leader have a de facto “pocket veto” of nominees, never imagined before Mitch McConnell’s abuse of power in refusing to even allow a floor vote on President Obama’s pick -- ultimately leading to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The JMTA would automatically place nominations on the Senate calendar if not reported out of committee after 180 calendar days

• Expand the court from nine to fifteen justices, over 12 years: two justices to be appointed in each 4-year presidential term until the total is reached. There’s nothing radical about this. Congress has changed the number of Supreme Court justices seven times before.

• Require public disclosure of three years of tax returns as part of the confirmation process for every Supreme Court nominee

• Require justices to recuse themselves from cases in which they hold potential conflicts of interest, and to publish their recusal decisions along with the reasons. It would also give the court authority to recuse any justice who does not self-recuse from a case, by a 2/3 vote of the justices

• Eliminate the Court’s “shadow docket” by requiring justices to put their names on every vote they decide upon, and to publish written opinions explaining their decisions

• Require that the IRS audit all Supreme Court justices’ tax returns every year, and

• Require a 2/3 supermajority for the court to invalidate any Act of Congress as unconstitutional

So many essential reforms are included in the JMTA! Send your senators a message now and tell them to pass this crucial piece of legislation.

Thank you for fighting for these necessary Supreme Court reforms.

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action