The Supreme Court, as the Judicial Branch of the American Government, has a significant amount of power to greatly influence daily lives of citizens and more.

The considerable weight that the actions and decisions taken by the court have on the country as a whole is so significant that centuries ago, the esteemed political philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville, stated, “A more imposing judicial power was never constituted by any people.”

Any decision that will impact the Court must be viewed critically and objectively before being implemented. 

President Joe Biden tasked a commission with finding productive and progressive ways of optimizing the operation of the Supreme Court. The Judiciary Act of 2021 was established and, understandably, it has given rise to much debate.

This Act was put forward by Reps. Nadler, Johnson, and Jones, and Senator Markey and looks to expand the number of sitting Justices from nine to thirteen. Currently there are no legal stipulations as to what the number of presiding Justices in the country can be at any given point in time, and the number of Justices did fluctuate from as few as six to as many as ten.

However, since 1869, according to records kept within the Supreme Court itself, the number of sitting Justices has not been less than or more than nine.

The Court makes decisions about the interpretation of the Constitution, having a direct impact on all citizens. They must effectively provide a Constitution that is free and fair to all, and which can't be deliberately or indeliberately misconstrued by one individual/party in favor of another, considering multiple demographics, and nine seems like a small number to do this with efficiently.

In 1869, when the Court chose to stick with only nine Justices, the population of the country was around 38 million. The 2020 Census is in excess of 330 million; how do we expect the same resource to be sufficient?

We need more capable minds in the Supreme Court to complement the ones there and as a result, our Constitution will reflect the progress we've made as a nation.

America is a proud home to many people from varying backgrounds and life experiences who deserve equal and fair representation.

So without a doubt, the US should #expand the Supreme Court, it's a logical recourse to meet the dynamic needs of this great nation.