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Supreme Court: Regular Appointments and Limits on Active Judicial Terms.

This law establishes a fixed schedule for appointing Supreme Court Justices, requiring the President to nominate one new Justice every two years. While Justices retain their positions, only the nine most recently appointed will hear major appellate cases. This change aims to increase the predictability of the Court's composition and reduce political conflict over unexpected vacancies, affecting the stability of legal interpretation nationwide.
Key points
The President must appoint one new Supreme Court Justice every two years (in the first and third year of a presidential term).
Only the nine Justices with the shortest tenure will decide appellate cases, effectively limiting the active judicial term for major rulings.
The goal is to regularize the nomination process, making the Court's composition more stable and less dependent on sudden retirements or deaths.
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Additional Information
Print number: 118_S_3096
Sponsor: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
Process start date: 2023-10-19