ATLANTA — ATLANTA – The death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has prompted new discussions about expanding the Supreme Court and debate over whether nine justices are enough.
The number of justices on the high court has varied over the years.
“The Constitution is silent on the number of Supreme Court justices,” says Georgia State Law Professor Eric Segall.
Since shortly after the Civil War, the number of Supreme Court Justices has been fixed at nine.
The original Supreme Court had six justices. Segall points out that it’s up to Congress and the President to change that number, and they have.
“The number went down to five as (John) Adams was leaving and as Jefferson came in it went back up to six then eventually seven, and it stayed at seven for a while,” says Segall.
As the country expanded to the west, the number of appellate courts grew, and the Supreme Court grew with them. At one point there were ten justices.
Congress reduced the number to seven during a dispute with President Andrew Johnson over the rights of newly freed slaves. That was the number when Republican Ulysses S. Grant entered the White House with a Republican Congress to support him.
Together, they agreed to add two justices.
“Republicans wanted a Republican President to have more power,” says Segall.
Grant did face criticism over his appointments. Many felt he was focused on a controversial Supreme Court decision concerning paper money.
“Everyone knew he would only appoint people to reverse that case, and they did one year later,” says Segall.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt floated the idea of increasing the number of justices to fifteen. He was frustrated by the high court’s lack of support for his policies.
The number of justices remained at nine.
The current political climate has ushered in a new wave of proposals to expand the court and even change the way justices are selected. Any change would require the approval of both houses of Congress and the President.