Question

What was President Roosevelt’s “Supreme Court Packing Plan”? Why was this plan a poor or bad idea?

Answer 1

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Supreme Court Packing Plan is the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937.

The Justices in the US were allowed to serve past the average retirement age of 63 years. Soon after Roosevelt's victory in election, he proposed to put a restriction to the age. Through the Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937, commonly referred to as the "court- packing plan", Roosevelt attempted to appoint minimum 1 and maximum 6 justices to the Supreme Court for each justice older than 70 years of age. This was considered as a political action for a favourable ruling on New Deal ( National Recovery Administration and Agricultural Adjustment Act) Legislation. This was during the Great Depression when the economy was in deep crisis situation. Roosevelt faced a lot of criticism and, The Judicial Procedures Reform Bill was never voted and the Supreme Court Justices went public on their opposition on the same.