Pol Sci 005 - This answers the questions that are stated above the document. It's about if

Should U.S. Supreme Court justices continue to be appointed for life or, instead,

be elected and subject to term limits? What likely advice would be offered by

one of the philosophers we have studied?

The constitution's main goal was to shield the judiciary from then-existing political pressures.

Term limits for supreme court justices are a great concept in today's environment of escalating

political demands and shifting viewpoints. When faced with challenging circumstances, new

ideas and styles would appear. It's also divided along party lines, reflecting other failing political

institutions. Judges who are appointed for life are essentially unaccountable for decades in

advancing their own political views. We would need to abandon partisanship and move toward

fairness.

Before retiring, Supreme Court judges are appointed for a significant amount of time. Supreme

Court justices should have term limits, according to some judges. "The rules regulating the U.S.

Supreme Court must be modified to reflect the reality of living in modern America," for instance

(Buchanan). Judges of the Supreme Court ought to be elected and subject to term limits, in my

opinion. In contemporary culture, political opinions evolve constantly, thus it is impossible to

have the same people reviewing the same instances. Multiple viewpoints are necessary. For

example, "it would protect the court from political pressure to substantially reform the

institution, preserving judicial independence" (Ward & Jr). Given that court decisions are still

affected by stare decisis, or precedent, as well as the reality that large lines of jurisprudence

experience considerable shifts even without such reform, a term restriction of nearly two decades

is likely to have contributed significantly to such turbulence.

If Plato were to provide advice on this matter, he would support term limits. According to Plato's

Theory of Justice, for instance, "justice is that in individual life and in social life, meaning setting

each individual and each class in its appropriate position." This shows Plato's concern for each

class, and the message he wants to get through is that everyone will have the chance to achieve

that rank. The Supreme Court's justices will have to move on since each one will be given a

specific task to do.

References

Buchanan, Maggie. “The Need for Supreme Court Term Limits.” Center for American Progress,

2020, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/need-supreme-court-term-limits/.

Plato’s Theory of Justice.

http://www.surendranathcollege.org/new/upload/PARAMITA_CHAKRABORTYPlatos%

20Theory%20of%20Justice2020-04-22Plato%20on%20justice.pdf.

“Term Limits.” Fix the Court, https://fixthecourt.com/fix/term-limits/. Accessed 15 Apr. 2022.

The History of Western Political Thought (POL SCI 005)