Trump fights to win support from Republicans in onenewspage.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from onenewspage.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Leonard Pitts
There is nothing sacred about nine.
The number was not carried down from a mountain on stone tablets, nor did it appear in a burning bush. In fact, before the Supreme Court contained nine justices, it contained six, the number fixed when the tribunal was established in 1789. Then, in an attempt to hobble his successor, President John Adams reduced it to five.
Then there were six again. Then seven. Then nine. Then 10. Then seven again. Since 1869, there have been nine.
So what to make of a speech last week at Harvard Law School in which Justice Stephen Breyer came out against the idea, now being floated on the political left, of increasing the court to 11? His fear is that the panel would come to be seen as a political tool, risking its credibility.
Published April 15. 2021 5:49AM
Leonard Pitts Jr
There is nothing sacred about nine.
The number was not carried down from a mountain on stone tablets, nor did it appear in a burning bush. In fact, before the Supreme Court contained nine justices, it contained six, the number fixed when the tribunal was established in 1789. Then, in an attempt to hobble his successor, President John Adams reduced it to five.
Then there were six again. Then seven. Then nine. Then 10. Then seven again. Since 1869, there have been nine.
So what to make of a speech last week at Harvard Law School in which Justice Stephen Breyer came out against the idea, now being floated on the political left, of increasing the court to 11? His fear is that the panel would come to be seen as a political tool, risking its credibility.
Leonard Pitts Jr.: It takes two parties to be bipartisan
There is nothing sacred about nine.
The number was not carried down from a mountain on stone tablets, nor did it appear in a burning bush. In fact, before the Supreme Court contained nine justices, it contained six, the number fixed when the tribunal was established in 1789. Then, in an attempt to hobble his successor, President John Adams reduced it to five.
Then there were six again. Then seven. Then nine. Then 10. Then seven again. Since 1869, there have been nine.
So what to make of a speech last week at Harvard Law School in which Justice Stephen Breyer came out against the idea, now being floated on the political left, of increasing the court to 11? His fear is that the panel would come to be seen as a political tool, risking its credibility.