Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch is opposing an effort by Democrats in D.C. to pack the Supreme Court.
Fitch joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in a letter to President Joe Biden and congressional leaders voicing their opposition to the recent steps taken towards expanding the nation’s highest court from nine justices to 13.
“Packing the Court is about putting political gain above the law. It’s a bad idea,” Fitch said. “President Biden and liberals in Congress should shelve it and get back to doing meaningful work for the people.”
Legislation was introduced just days after President Biden signed an executive order to create a Commission to explore court-packing. In a news release, the state attorney general explained that the reasoning behind their opposition.
The Framers of the Constitution created an independent judiciary to prevent the new federal government from repeating judicial abuses experienced under King George III. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s attempt more than 80 years ago to similarly pack the Court failed because it threatened our Constitutional system. Further, both Justices Ruth B. Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer have in recent years condemned such schemes to pack the Court.
The letter states, “Indeed, given the filing of the bill six days after the President announced his Executive Order regarding the Supreme Court, it is clear that the Commission on the Supreme Court is nothing but a coordinated attempt to justify a naked political power grab by the leaders of Congress and the President. We believe that such actions will seriously undermine our constitutional system, the public’s confidence in our courts, and the rule of law. We oppose passage of such a measure.”
Attorney General Fitch joins Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.
