Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2023
Publication Information
48 J. Sup. Ct. Hist. 174 (2023).
Abstract
There is a curious lacuna in the literature on the Court-packing crisis of 1937. The proposal for reform of the federal judiciary that received the most attention and consideration in that year was, of course, president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s proposal to enlarge the membership of the Supreme Court from nine to fifteen justices.1 Yet, both before and throughout the battle over the president’s “Court-packing plan,” members of Congress introduced a wide variety of alternative measures for addressing their dissatisfaction with recent Supreme Court decisions invalidating various state and federal laws designed to relieve economic distress and stimulate economic recovery.2 Some of these proposals would have taken statutory form, while many others would have amended the Constitution in various respects. In the end, none of these measures was reported out of Committee. Nevertheless, they were the subject of serious discussion in multiple contemporary venues.
Recommended Citation
Barry Cushman,
Court-packing in Context,
48 J. Sup. Ct. Hist. 174 (2023)..
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship/1747
Included in
Judges Commons, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons, President/Executive Department Commons, Supreme Court of the United States Commons
Comments
Abstract taken from introduction