Bybee Speaks With Agence France Presse About US Supreme Court Reform

August 1, 2024

Agence France Presse

Keith J. Bybee

Political Science Department

Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics and the Media

Federal

Political Parties

SCOTUS

United States

Agence France Presse

Keith J. Bybee

The U.S. Supreme Court has become a political flashpoint in recent years, triggering growing calls for reform. President Joe Biden unveiled proposals Monday to reform the nine-member court, which has reeled sharply to the right with the nomination of three conservative justices by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.

Wielding a 6-3 majority, conservatives have stripped the nationwide right to abortion, weakened environmental protections and federal agencies, and granted Trump's claim that an ex-president has broad immunity from prosecution.

Keith Bybee, professor of political science, says 6-3 rulings such as the immunity decision make the Court appear more partisan in its decision-making.

“But also, this majority is quite emboldened,” he says, rendering decisions that are “quite sweeping and overturn decades-old precedents” such as in the case of abortion.

“Those two factors together prompted a lot of concern among the Democratic Party about the power of the Court,” Bybee says.

Read more in the Agence France Presse article, “Supreme Court reforms a long shot in current US political environment.”