This Liberal Justice Isn’t Concerned About an 8-Member Supreme Court

[Geee]

Heritage Foundation:

One of the U.S. Supreme Court’s liberal justices says an evenly divided court is functioning just fine—and would continue to do so if it faced another Bush v. Gore case.

 

“The court, when it began at the time of the Constitution’s writing, had six members. They had six members for several years,” said Justice Stephen Breyer in an interview on MSNBC. “They had 10 members for several years after the Civil War. They functioned with an even number of members.”

 

The court currently has eight sitting justices following the death of Antonin Scalia in February. Senate Republicans have not held hearings for President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

 

When asked what a case like Bush v. Gore might mean for an evenly split court, Breyer said he preferred not to talk about hypotheticals but also dismissed any potential adverse effects. Bush v. Gore was decided in 2000 in a 5-4 decision.

 

“Half of our cases are unanimous,” Breyer said. “The 5-4 cases are probably 20 percent, and it isn’t the same five and the same four.”