Janus Forum 2021: Should the Supreme Court of the Unites States be Reformed?

As part of the Janus Forum conversations series, The Political Theory Project welcomes professors Sanford Levinson and Scott Douglas Gerber to discuss the potential needs and strategies of reforming the Supreme Court of the United States. Should Supreme Court justices have term limits? Should the Court have a greater or smaller number of justices? Is “court packing” appropriate? Does our current system successfully insulate the Supreme Court from partisan politics? If reforms are needed, how should they be achieved?

Levinson’s and Gerber’s research careers establish them as experts on this topic, but with substantially different ideological perspectives. We hope this event provides our audience with a unique opportunity to view the topic of Supreme Court reform from a plurality of viewpoints.

Speaker Bios:

Sanford Levinson is the W. St. Garwood and W. St. John Garwood, Jr. Centennial chair and professor of government at the University of Texas Law School. He is the author of six books and dozens of scholarly articles. His expertise spans a variety of interests apart from tonight’s topic, The Supreme Court, including the United States Constitution, Diversity, and the relationship between Law and Literature.

Scott Douglas Gerber is professor of law at Ohio Northern University and an
associated scholar at The Political Theory Project. His nine books include “A Distinct Judicial Power: The Origins of an Independent Judiciary, 1606-1787” (Oxford University Press). In 2020 he won the inaugural Christopher Collier Prize from the Connecticut Supreme Court Historical Society.

April 8, 2021
Brown University