The last time the Supreme Court expanded was in 1869

[Hugabear]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States#Size_of_the_Court

<snip>
The United States Constitution does not specify the size of the Supreme Court, but in Article III it authorizes the Congress to fix the number of justices. The Judiciary Act of 1789 called for the appointment of six justices. As the country grew geographically, Congress increased the number of justices to correspond with the growing number of judicial circuits: the court was expanded to seven members in 1807, nine in 1837 and ten in 1863.

At the request of Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, Congress passed the Judicial Circuits Act (1866) which provided that the next three justices to retire would not be replaced; thus, the size of the Court should have eventually reached seven by attrition. Consequently, one seat was removed in 1866 and a second in 1867. However, this law did not play out to completion, for in the Judiciary Act of 1869,<73> also known as the Circuit Judges Act, the number of justices was again set at nine, where it has since remained.
<snip>


I think the United States has grown rather significantly since 1869. The size of both the Senate and the House has grown over the years. Does it really make sense that nine people should wield such a vast amount of power? In all honesty, over the past several years, we've seen that it can boil down to just one or two justices making such a huge impact.

We didn't have 50 states back in 1869. We sure as hell didn't have nearly 400 million people back then.

Maybe it is time to update the SCOTUS.

[defendandprotect]

1. Interesting . . . let's go for it -- pack the court!!!

:evilgrin:

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

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[KingFlorez]

3. FDR wanted to do this, but it failed

I don't think this is the route to go, it shouldn't even be attempted.

[Codeine]

4. A number of posters are missing the fact that

Congress decides the number of Justices, not the President.

[Hugabear]

7. Exactly - and Congress has expanded the Supreme Court on several occasions

It's been expanded several times, although just not since 1869.

[DJ13]

5. Expand it by one

The problem with the USSC is that theres no means to have a stalemate (short of illness, or abstaining) in the outcome with an uneven number of justices.

A ruling like the absurdity today wouldnt have been a ruling had there been one additional liberal justice.

[TexasObserver]

6. Recommend. Yes, it's time.

A big increase. Double the size. Make it 18 justices and appoint 9 new ones. Make Scalia and gang a footnote. To end the excesses of the Drug War and of the spying on Americans, to end corporate personhood excesses, we have to stop this court now.

[bluestateguy]

8. FDR couldn't do it, and that was with a massive Democratic majority in Congress

and fresh after his landslide in 1936.

[jwirr]

9. I thought the FDR expanded the SCOTUS. I would like to see that

happen. 13 or 15 judges.