Harris’ opportunity to nominate a Supreme Court justice may be limited, according to legal experts who spoke to Newsweek.
If Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, is elected president, her U.S. Supreme Court options could be limited, legal experts recently told Newsweek.
If Harris wins this year’s election against former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee, 70-year-old Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, may retire to allow a young liberal to take her place. However, Sotomayor may not want to lose her place on the Court and Harris would lose her one chance at a Supreme Court nomination.
Los Angeles-based attorney John Perlstein told Newsweek that he believes Sotomayor will want to remain on the Court.
“If Harris is elected, I do not foresee any retirements from the Supreme Court. Sotomayor is capable and appears a lot younger than her age, therefore there is no reason for her to go anywhere”, he said. “The conservative justices would hold on under the Harris administration, barring any unforeseen health issues.”
The current Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority.
Perlstein added that the Biden-Harris plan for Supreme Court reform will likely not come to pass without Democratic control of Congress.
In July, President Joe Biden announced proposals for Supreme Court reform that include term limits and binding ethical rules that would prevent justices from taking gifts from donors. Such calls have been driven by a slew of controversies involving conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas who have both been accused of accepting luxury gifts and vacations from wealthy GOP donors without properly disclosing them on federal financial forms.
Biden said that the proposed changes aim to restore public trust in the Court and ensure accountability, and also cited the Supreme Court’s historic 6-3 decision on July 1 to grant presidents broad immunity from prosecution for crimes they commit in office.
