Executive Summary
In 2004, Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez added twelve new seats to his country’s Supreme Court. He did this in order to ensure that the Venezuelan judiciary would not stand in the way of his attempts to consolidate power and confiscate thousands of private businesses. The expanded Venezuelan court then stood by as Chavez and his successor imposed socialism and deprived citizens of basic rights.
Similarly, some American politicians want to “expand” or “restructure” the U.S. Supreme Court in order to control the outcome of Court rulings.
Changing the structure of the Court to achieve certain results is known as Court-packing, and it is a brazen attack on the rule of law.