2016 TERM LIMITS FOR FEDERAL JUDGES ACT
I propose legislation requiring:
1. Prior to an appointment or run for a federal judgeship, the candidate must declare the political
party they are registered to vote for.
2. Federal Judges and Supreme Court Judges should be elected by popular vote of the people!
3. The term for a Federal Judge or a Supreme Court Justice should be limited to twelve years. To
begin this process, each four years the three Supreme Court Justices with the longest tenure
will be retired and three new Justices will be elected by the people at the time of the
Presidential elections until all the present Justices are retired. All new Supreme Court Justices
may only serve twelve years. Wages and retirement benefits will be in line with worker’s
benefits in the public workforce.
Does anyone believe that people who run for a “non-political” office are really “non-political”
and are totally without bias? It is not true and it is time to change this charade. There are too
many politicians trying to get appointed or elected by hiding their true political bias!
At the time our Constitution was signed, there were no political parties. There were strong
disagreements between the patriots who framed our Constitution, but the effects of the emergence of
political parties were just not contemplated. The expectation that non-partisan actions would always
occur, never materialized.
Within a decade, an intense political struggle between Federalist and Republican parties
developed, dashing any hope for non-partisan bias.
Following the Supreme Court action in 1803, there was a long period of demands for changing
the way Federal Judges were elected and their terms of service.
Thomas Jefferson, as President of our country, and afterward, during his long retirement,
advocated restricting judicial tenure and limiting Federal Jurisdiction. He asserted that with
impeachment the only means of removal, the judges “consider themselves secure for life; thy skulk
from responsibility to public opinion.”
No warning was ever truer than what has transpired.
No other office, not even a President, can be elected for life in America! It is time to set a term
limit for Federal Judges and Supreme Court Justices! Times change and we have seen the tragic
consequences of having Federal Justices who cannot be held accountable for their decisions. They have
proven that lifetime tenure doesn’t mean their decisions will be “nonpartisan” or in accord with the
original intent of the Constitution and the public majorities desire.
This country would be far better served if Federal Judges were held accountable and have to
stand for election at least every twelve years. This would be possible if we elected three new Justices
in every Presidential election. All Federal and Supreme Court Justices should be subject to term limits
and elected by POPULAR VOTE of the people in every Presidential election and NOT appointed by
the President or Congress. If a Judge dies, retires, or is unable to fulfill the requirements of his
position, the President, with the approval of Congress, may appoint a replacement to fill only the
remainder of the term. The three Supreme Court judges selected to run for re-election would be the
three judges with the longest tenure.
Prior to the Civil War, many members of Congress and the Majorities of several state legislators
called for revisions to the Federal act that gave Federal Courts broad sweeping powers without regard
to the majority publics’ desires.
You should recall that the Supreme Court’s 1857 Dred Scott decision denied all African American
citizens” any rights under the Constitution. (This was 81 years after the birth of our country! The
Supreme Court also ruled that women had only “derivative” citizenship and could not vote until the
Supreme Court changed their minds again in 1920, one hundred and forty four years after the
constitution was signed! )
Numerous debates and briefs submitted to the Supreme Court have either been ignored or
never even presented for a vote.
Appointed federal Judges and Justices of the Supreme Court are NOT infallible! Today they are
America’s “Emperors”. Their tenure is forever and at this late date, they can still decree you call a dog a
“cat” and allow you to marry a chicken, and there is nothing you or the public majority can do about it,
until now!
Over the years there has been so much controversy over their actions, that in 1967 they
created their own Federal Judicial Center giving the federal courts their own agency for the education
of judges and court staff and for “improving the Judicial Branch: Administration” Staff, and Legislation.
We now have the foxes guarding the hen house.
Does anyone believe that people who run for judgeships or other “non-political” office are
really “non-political” and totally without bias? It is very rarely true and it is time for everyone that runs
for a political office to have to declare their political affiliation; the political party they are registered to
vote for. Let’s end this “non-political” charade. Too many politicians get elected by hiding their true
political bias!
It must be emphasized that no personal religious belief, law of any sect or foreign country may
override American law! If a person holds a religious belief contrary to an American law, they should
not run or be accepted for a Federal position!
We can, and must, change and enforce the above changes. Let the people decide!
Changing the way Federal judges are appointed and the length of their terms can be changed by
Congress without a Constitutional Convention!