Biden delivered remarks from the Oval Office outlining his decision not to seek reelection, his first on-camera remarks since making that announcement on Sunday. In addition to explaining why he is ending his candidacy, he listed off his priorities for his remaining time as president.

“And I’m going to call for Supreme Court reform, because this is critical to our democracy,” Biden said.

Multiple outlets have reported that Biden is considering proposals to establish term limits for Supreme Court justices and an enforceable ethics code for those on the high court.

  • Hegar
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    2391 year ago

    If I understand the supreme court correctly, Biden could just shoot Roberts, Alito and Thomas and call it court reform, right? That makes it an official act?

    • ignirtoq
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      1521 year ago

      Ironically if he did that and appointed new liberal justices, there’s a good chance the new Court would overturn this Court’s decision, and he could be convicted of murder and probably violating several other federal laws for that act.

        • ignirtoq
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          881 year ago

          Ex post facto is for if a new law is passed making something a crime, and the act was committed before its passage. This is all about interpretation of already passed law. It’s basically the justices saying that this was against the law the whole time. Ex post facto doesn’t apply here.

        • Sabata
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          51 year ago

          The president is currently above the law, so the constitution is as good as toilet paper.

    • @ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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      131 year ago

      So, to answer seriously: if it’s an explicit presidential power he gets total personal immunity, although the office can still be restricted. If it’s an official act, he’s presumed to have personal immunity unless the prosecutor can argue that there’s no way that not having immunity could get in the way of doing the job of president, and they’re not allowed to use motivation to make the case.

      The president isn’t given the explicit power to reform the courts.
      He’s given explicit power to command the armed forces, but the rules of the armed forces are decided by Congress.

      So it’s a question arguing how “the president can’t kill members of the judiciary” doesn’t hinder the power of the executive branch without referencing why the president is killing them.

      • Justin
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        1 year ago

        Biden is allowed to kill Supreme Court justices because he might need to Navy SEAL people for security reasons. Allowing litigation on Biden’s SEAL powers would irreparably restrict Biden’s agency as commander in chief and would literally cause a 9/11

        • @ricecake@sh.itjust.works
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          121 year ago

          I’m horrified to agree that that’s actually a valid argument.

          Judicial review of the established presidential power to direct the military to kill, ahem, “designate as a clear and immediate threat”, specific individuals in an emergency to protect the country would legitimately undermine the presidents power to defend the integrity of the nation.

          Goddamn was that a stupid fucking ruling.

          • Justin
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            31 year ago

            The argument that the Supreme Court made pretty boils down to “if you let the president go to trial for Navy SEALing a Supreme Court Justice, then the chilling effect of potential litigation would make the president too scared to kill Osama Bin Laden. Therefore the president has legal immunity when Navy SEALing Supreme Court justices”.

            So yes, the Supreme Court actually believes that litigating a president could literally cause another 9/11.

      • @DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social
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        1 year ago

        Well, he would need a volunteer that way, then he writes them a pardon, because the order is still illegal and they can refuse it, it just doesn’t matter to him.

        Much easier to just buy a shotgun, call it Official Acts, and go to town.

    • @xenoclast@lemmy.world
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      41 year ago

      That is only for very specific people. That part is a secret and they don’t tell you who. But I’m certain Biden isn’t on that list.

  • @WatDabney@sopuli.xyz
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    1621 year ago

    I was hoping for that.

    He’s a lame duck now. That means he’s free to pursue policies that will add to his legacy, and without having to give even the tiniest shit about what the establishment and the donor class might think about it.

      • @machinin@lemmy.world
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        181 year ago

        I’m even wondering if the timing was intentional. Right after the RNC convention and they took all the momentum from Trump in one single announcement. Maybe they lined to the donors to pump up the donations right after the announcement to gain more momentum. If so, it was really genius.

    • @GiuseppeAndTheYeti@midwest.social
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      191 year ago

      That’s not entirely true with Kamala being tied to his administration. I still think it would only make her more popular, but his actions aren’t truly lame duck.

    • 👍Maximum Derek👍OP
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      181 year ago

      I agree in sentiment, but the lame duck doesn’t start until November 6th. And we need to stop normalizing otherwise because the republicans have already weaponized it.

  • @rockSlayer@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Add 2 seats to the bench, and then add 13 total judges. 11 of 22 judges are selected at random to determine the case. The non voting judge opinion becomes part of the case law, as well as an intercollegiate constitutional scholar opinion

    • @commandar@lemmy.world
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      751 year ago

      This matches the broad strokes of the approach I favor as well.

      There are 13 Federal circuits. Expand to one justice per circuit, then double that.

      But the core of the approach, regardless of the exact number, is to shift to having cases heard by randomized panels of judges. The amount of power wielded by individual justices right now is just insane. Dilute it down so that the power rests with the body rather than individuals.

      Further, randomizing who hears any given case would help curtail the current environment where test cases get tailored to the idiosyncracies and pet theories of individual judges.

      SCOTUS should be deciding cases based on rational reading of the law, not entertaining wing nut theories that Thomas or Alito hinted at in previous decisions. That sort of nonsense becomes a lot less feasible if there’s no guarantee a case will actually end up in front of Thomas or Alito.

      • @GiuseppeAndTheYeti@midwest.social
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        161 year ago

        So what happens when the judges chosen for a case interpretation end up being 7-2 in one party’s favor? Conservatives would be sitting at the slot machines in a diaper pulling the lever until they hit a jackpot. It’s not like making them sit out of some cases based on a lottery is going to make them any less hypocritical or prone to power tripping and bribery. They’ll just wait their turn.

        Appointees should just be subject to term limits and yearly affirmation votes by members of the BAR association to renew or revoke their qualifications. That way members of the public that are still well versed in law are able to hold them accountable.

        • @commandar@lemmy.world
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          181 year ago

          I think you’re missing the point.

          As things stand now, you get cases that are tailor made to the whims of specific people because there’s a 100% chance it ends up in front of those specific people. That’s an absolutely massive problem.

          The point is that you’re less likely to have cases that are specifically aimed at stroking any given individual’s brand of crazy when there’s only a ~1 in 3 chance they’ll even hear it. A panel of 9 from a pool of 26 means that you go from a 100% chance that, say, Alito and Thomas, hear a case together to around 12%. That’s a huge gamble when it takes years and a massive amount of money to get a case in front of SCOTUS.

          No, it doesn’t solve all conceivable problems with the court. But it’d help address the fact that SCOTUS justices are entirely too powerful as individuals and it can be done via simple act of Congress.

          Appointees should just be subject to term limits and yearly affirmation votes by members of the BAR association to renew or revoke their qualifications

          Not going to happen. SCOTUS terms are life appointments constitutionally. That means you’ve gotten into amendment territory which just plain is not realistic right now.

          • Natanael
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            11 year ago

            Appointments are for life, but I’ve seen arguments it’s possible to “retire” justices to powerless seats so they technically keep the job and title. Or rotate them out of SCOTUS cases to the federal circuits, so they still keep their title but have the role and power of regular judges.

          • @GiuseppeAndTheYeti@midwest.social
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            11 year ago

            Supreme Court function is a hot button topic right now because of Roe v. Wade. The vast majority of Americans agree that at the very least SCJs should have term limits, so start there and force a vote on an amendment. Then if it fails, you have votes on record for the next election. Many Republicans have pro-choice, pro-union, anti-lobbying stances that aren’t aware that their representative in congress would vote against because it never comes to their table in the first place. Some(not all) would change their vote from red to at least 3rd party if we were able to highlight those issues in voting records during campaign season.

            And even if you feel that isn’t worth the time or energy for only speculative shifts in the public vote, the opinion you’re expressing is that the constitution should remain unchanged until some undetermined date in the future which may never come. And that is more damaging to the bureaucratic system than a proposed amendment failing because definitions shift over time. It wasn’t too long ago that property was determined to include black people because it suited the interest of wealthy land owners in the south. Then because of that we ended up fighting a civil war.

            • @commandar@lemmy.world
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              11 year ago

              The problem is that the process for amending the Constitution is heavily, structurally biased in favor of the Republicans now. The GOP would absolutely rally around this issue because it’s one of the primary things allowing them to hang on to power right now.

              I don’t believe in engaging in theatrics with a zero percent chance of success when there are real, feasible steps that could be taken to make things better.

      • WhatTrees
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        51 year ago

        If you triple instead of double that you could have a three judge panel (like federal districts do) that could rule on smaller cases that come out of that circuit. Then, if needed, they could call a full 9 - 11 judge panel if it’s a larger topic. This would also allow them to hear many more cases than they currently do, which has been a problem for decades.

        • @commandar@lemmy.world
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          I’d be in favor of more. 26 is just because I think there’s a very easy argument to make for “every circuit gets direct representation on SCOTUS” and it’s not a huge leap to go to two per circuit from there.

          Increasing throughput is definitely one of the reasons I’d support doing this as well. Thanks for highlighting that since I didn’t.

          • WhatTrees
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            21 year ago

            I totally agree! Just saying you could make that exact same argument but for three per district and it opens up a bunch more possibilities.

  • wildncrazyguy138
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    591 year ago

    A modern day Cincinnatus, the Supreme Court just made him a consul and he just chose to go back to being a common man for the good of the republic.

    If this plays out, he’ll go down in history books as the man who sacrificed himself to save Democracy.

  • @venusaur@lemmy.world
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    581 year ago

    He should work on all of these:

    Term limits for Supreme Court

    Abolish Electoral college

    Restrictions on corporate real estate investing

    Forgive student loans

    Restrictions on members of government trading stocks

      • @AIhasUse@lemmy.world
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        -21 year ago

        What’s the average amount of student loan forgiveness that students have received? Do you think it is more or less than a months rent?

        • @Feathercrown@lemmy.world
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          121 year ago

          Unfortunately blanket student loan forgiveness keeps getting blocked by republicans in congress or judges they’ve appointed. They’ve only been able to provide relief to those who need it most. I know I haven’t gotten any. But that’s why average isn’t a great metric to use here-- I don’t need it, others do. Not to mention, average in terms of what-- absolute monetary value? Proportion of money received compared to total loan balance? Compared to original loan balance before interest?

          • @Feathercrown@lemmy.world
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            Because I’m bored though, I’ll humor you.

            Total direct loan forgiveness (not counting repayment pauses during covid or other relief measures): $167 billion

            Total US outstanding student loan debt: $1.77 trillion

            Total US outstanding student loan borrowers: 42.8 million

            Average student loan debt per outstanding borrower: ~$40k (same source as above)


            Total percentage of debt cancelled: 167m/1770m = 9.4%

            Average debt relief per person: $3,900 (!)

            So yes, it’s paid for multiple months worth of rent, and relieved about 10% of everyone’s debt on average! Better than I expected.

    • Nougat
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      151 year ago

      The first two of those will require constitutional amendments. That’s a years-long process.

      • aname
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        71 year ago

        Hopefully Kamala would continue that process

      • I'm back on my BS 🤪
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        61 year ago

        Not really. There’s a popular vote interstate compact that is designed to bypass a constitutional amendment. Basically, the law says that once enough states agree to it, meaning to total electoral votes reaches 270, their votes go for whichever candidate won the popular vote.

        • Nougat
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          31 year ago

          I am well familiar with that one, but that is a state-level endeavor, and I’m not sure that Biden, as a federal office-holder, should be involved in that.

    • @aaaaace@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      1 year ago

      Ranked choice voting in all national elections.

      Electoral districts by GIS hexagon mapping.

      NTRA, National Railroad Trackage Rights Act, which allows any railroad to run on any other railroad’s trackage and service any customer to promote competition.

      Death penalty for any self-identified religious person violating any rule in their religion.

      1 million dollar fine for each falsehood or misleading statement on broadcast media, including entertainment and drama. Normalizing lying has to stop.

      All theft and burglary convictions, including white collar, require making whole of all consequences to the victims instead of incarceration.

      National Police Registry (NPR) for all enforcement personnel.

      • @venusaur@lemmy.world
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        31 year ago

        That’s a wild list haha. You’re a dreamer.

        Regarding RCV, it has to happen at the state level. I support that tho

  • @jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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    381 year ago

    He can call for whatever he wants, but with a Republican house and less than 60 votes in the Senate, it goes nowhere.

  • Cyrus Draegur
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    371 year ago

    “call for”??? FUCK THAT! just issue a few “official presidential acts” drone striking the corrupt ones, and also anyone who refuses to approve the replacements he appoints.

      • Cyrus Draegur
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        121 year ago

        Especially if he invites the supreme court to correct their presidential immunity mistake as his last act. Of course, shit that wasn’t illegal when you did it can’t (usually) legally be charged after it’s made illegal. Ex post facto laws are a hard sell.

    • @Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
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      71 year ago

      They didn’t give him unlimited power to compel things, just the apparent ability to legally break laws. So unless he is sending people with guns and or handcuffs to compel things, nothing would happen.

      For example if he made an Executive Order outlining corruption consequences, the Supreme Court would just say “Lol no!” He could send in people to arrest them I guess, but he would have to suspend their constitutional rights to a trial. I don’t think people would feel good watching people get no due process.

  • @brucethemoose@lemmy.world
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    291 year ago

    But he has no power to do that, right? Congress would have to go along, and the Supreme Court is not gonna just do it themselves.

    • @catloaf@lemm.ee
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      221 year ago

      Yeah. Specifically, Mitch “too close to an election” McConnell would block the confirmation.

      Or so I assume. I had to go see if he was still alive, because I hadn’t heard from him in a while. Seems he got booed at the RNC.

    • @Crismus@lemmy.world
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      141 year ago

      He can have the CIA assassinate them, and keep it top secret. The Judiciary is it’s own section and without a true act of congress or Constitutional Amendment nothing can change without the Supreme Court going in on it.

      That Supreme Court case just set in stone what all Presidents have had for what they did in office. George W. never spent time in jail for war crimes, Reagan never went away for arming paramilitary groups, and Nixon didn’t go to jail for spying on the DNC.

    • @ripcord@lemmy.world
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      61 year ago

      Continuing to behave as if there’s a few brushfires that need put out, instead of a massive forest fire going on around him…well, it just sums the man up for me.

  • bitwolf
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    81 year ago

    Crazy. Ive been thinking about enforceable ethics codes for companies. This would be a great start towards that.

  • @mlg@lemmy.world
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    61 year ago

    Hey guys cmon this is at least an upgrade from “president’s office planning to” lol