Court+Packing+Bill

Court-packing is an attempt by the sitting President to override checks and balances by nominating many members of his (or her) own party to the Supreme Court and/or other federal courts. This action skews decisions to accommodate the President's agenda.

In [|Roosevelts first Term] the sumbling block to social reform was from the Supreme Court. The Court was devided over the New Deal. 4 of the judges were conservative, 3 were liberals, and on May 27 1935 the remaining 2 court members sided with conservative marking the national industrial act unconstitutional. Feburary 5 1937 President Roosevelt suprised congress with a message reccomending a reorganization of the federal court and its machinary, Including and increase in judges in the Supreme Court and Lower Courts and methods of speeding up decisions on constitutional questions. In a Draft of a bill the president could be given the power to increase the supreme court by a maximum of 6 judges to 15, and the lower courts by 2, being called the [|Court-Packing Bill]. Roosevelts requests: 1.) Power of the president to nominate an additional judge in any court when and incumbent has reached the age of 70, held office for ten years and within six months after reaching 70 has not resigned or retired. 2.) Power for the supreme court to appoint an assistant or "proctor" to watch lower court calenders and permit cheif justic to assin district and circuit judges to areas where the dockets are congested. 3.) Provision that no decision, injunction, judgment or degree on any constitutional question be promulgated by any federal court without previous and ample notice to the attorney general of the United States and an opportunity be given to present evidence. 4.) Provisions that when any inferior court determines a question of constitutionality there should be an imediate appeal to the supreme court that such cases take precedence over all other matters in that court. On March 9, 1937 Rossivelt Adressed the American public to his plan.

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Roosevelt, during a fireside chat, "The balance of power... has been tipped out of balance by the Courts in direct contradiction of the high purposes of the framers of the Constitution. It is my purpose to restore that balance."