Evening star., 1946-06-22
Some Chance Is Seen
For 'Unpqcking' Plan
Bridges-Eastland Bid to Change
Court Awaits Election Test
By Jay G. Hayden

~ Soy os 4XHpNcH
Whether the move by Senators
Bridges, Republican, and Eastland,
Democrat, to "unpack the Supreme
Court will be seriously considered prob
ably hinges on two eventualities-frst,
this years congressional election result
and second, what the court itself does
after 1t reconvenes.
II the present large majority of Re-
publicans and conservative Democrats
increases to a clear two-thirds and if
the Jackson-Black war" within the
court continues to show in its decisions,
submission of the Bridges -Eastland
amendment is by no means beyond the
range of possibility.
Also such a Congress could pass the
Case bill or any other labor legislation
it might devise, "the Presidents veto
Notwithstanding, and conceivably it
might upset both the President and the
Supreme Court in other directions.
In an opposite situation in 1887, Presi-
dent Roosevelt attempted to use a more
than tWo-thirds Democratic majority in
both houses of Congress to pack" the
Supreme Court. Enough Democratic
Senators rebelled to defeat this design,
but the inevitabilities of time and old
age matched against Mr.. Roosevelt's un-
paralleled tenure ultimately gave him
his way. Before he died he had ap-
pointed seven justices and advanced one
to the chief justiceship.
RooseveIt's Plan.
President Roosevelt's scheme for
packing the court was to add a new
justice for every existing member who
persisted in sitting beyond the permis-
slbe retirement age of TO- One of the
Presidents most cherished supporters,
Justice Brandeis, was in the over-70
class but so were five conservatives
Chief Justice Hughes and Justices VAN
devanter, McReynolds, Sutherland and
Butler.
With the plan in effect the President
couldn't lose If the "old men" con-
tlnued to hang on, their votes could be
nullified by additional judges. If thev
elected to resign, the President would
name their successors
Senators Bridges and Eastland are at
tempting a similar process in reverse.
Roosevelt sought to oust sitting judges
IN order to create court in his own
image. The Senators want to remove
judges to make the court over in the
image OF conservative Congress.
An important point of difference is
that, whereas Roosevelt was dependent
on Congress to work his will, Congress,
II tWo-thlrds of its members are so in
cllned, can submit the court-reorganiz-
ing constitutional amendment for rati-
flcatlon by the States without anv
reference to the President And it is
not improbable that the combination Of
Southern Democratic and Northern Re-
publican States, which produces the con-
servatlve congressional ma jority, would
combine to approve the amendment.
New Proposal Explained.
Assuming acceptance of the premise
that it a bad thing to have SO many
of the judges appointed by one Presi-
dent, the Bridges-Eastland plan is quite
reasonable. 1t would forbid appoint
ment by any President of more than
three of the courts nine members II
fourth or more vacancies occurred,
these would be filled ad interim by the
House of Representatives, voting by
State units and with the choice restricted
to presidentially appointed judges of
the lower Federal courts.
When the succeeding President took
office he could replace congressionally
chosen judges. but he could appoint no
more than three judges all told
If made retroactive, as proposed the
plan would retire the last four Roose-
! velt-appointed associate justices-Doug-
las. Murphy, Jackson and Rutledge.
Since President Truman already has ap-
pointed two judges he could fill only
one further vacancy.
Of the other past Presidents the plan
would have affected only six-Washing-
ton, who named the whole court initial
ly; Taft, who named five associate
judges and one chief justice, and jack
son, Lincoln, Cleveland and Benjamin
Harrison, with four each.
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