Is Court Packing Constitutional? Don't Be So Sure

Democrats are trying to revive an idea left for dead nearly 90 years ago: packing the Supreme Court. Many members of the party have proposed expanding the court from nine justices to 13 the next time they win control of the presidency and Congress. That would transform a 6-3 conservative majority into a 7-6 liberal one. Last week only one House Democrat, North Carolina's Don Davis, voted for a measure to propose a constitutional amendment fixing the court's size at nine. But it's unclear that such an amendment is necessary. Democrats cite several precedents from the 19th century in which Congress voted to increase the number of justices. But there are no clear precedents that support a partisan court-packing plan and a strong argument that it would be an unconstitutional assault on judicial independence and the separation of powers.