The former chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts has some advice for young voters who are concerned about the accountability of the U.S. Supreme Court.
“If I were an American aged 21, I would start working to amend our Constitution so there were time limits,” Margaret Marshall told Boston Public Radio on Wednesday. Marshall served 11 years as chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and was the first woman appointed to the position.
Creating term limits would require a change to the U.S. Constitution, but Marshall said she believes it can be done. She cited how in 1972 voters amended the Massachusetts Constitution to include a mandatory retirement age of 70 for all judges in the commonwealth.
“Don’t tell me that you can’t change the Constitution. You have to change the Constitution,” she said.
Term limits are not about physical or mental health, she said, noting that the benefit of term limits is allowing those in power to move over for new generations.
“It’s a kind of hubris. It’s a selfishness,” she said. “But why do we keep holding on? Because we are living longer and longer. And my very strong view is: move aside.”
Marshall pointed to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who remained on the Supreme Court until her death in 2020 at 83 years old, all while being treated for cancer. Marshall said she was an admirer of Ginsberg but thinks she should have stepped down while she was ill. Ginsberg’s death opened up a seat that was filled by a more conservative justice, Amy Coney Barrett.
Currently, the health of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, 69, has been under scrutiny and some progressives have called for her to step down while President Joe Biden is still in office. If Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer could guarantee enough votes in Congress to confirm a Biden nominee before January 2025, Marshall said she thinks Sotomayor should step down.
“If that was guaranteed,” she added, emphasizing it has nothing to do with mental competency, but offers an opening for new leadership.
