Presidential Controversies: FDR and the Court Packing Plan
Although Franklin Delano Roosevelt is consistently ranked as one of the greatest presidents, he had his share of controversy. (Who wouldn't in three full terms and a bit?) Perhaps his greatest controversy began on February 5, 1937 when Roosevelt unveiled proposed legislation known as the Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937, though the whole affair is better known colloquially as Roosevelt's "Court-Packing Plan."
FDR proposed to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. By adding more Justices who were more philosophically in step with him, FDR's goal was to obtain favorable rulings for pieces of New Deal legislation that had been previously ruled unconstitutional. The most controversial provision of the bill would have granted the President power to appoint up to six more Justices to the court, one for every sitting member over the age of 70.
During Roosevelt's first term, the Court had struck down several of his New Deal measures intended to bolster economic recovery during the Great Depression. Democrats accused a narrow majority of the court of being obstructionist and political. Since the U.S. Constitution does not limit the size of the Supreme Court, Roosevelt sought to counter this entrenched opposition to his political agenda by expanding the size of the court in order to create a pro-New Deal majority on the bench.
The legislation was unveiled on February 5, 1937 and on March 9, 1937, Roosevelt addressed the nation about his plan in one of his "Fireside chats" radio addresses. Later that month, on March 29, the Supreme Court handed down a decision upholding a Washington state minimum wage law in West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish by a 5–4 ruling. Justice Owen Roberts had joined with the wing of the bench that was more sympathetic to the New Deal. Since Roberts had previously ruled against most New Deal legislation, his perceived about-face was widely interpreted by many as an effort to alleviate the political pressure to create a court more friendly to the New Deal. Journalists of the day called his move "the switch in time that saved nine."
Roosevelt's plan failed largely due to adverse public opinion. The retirement of one Supreme Court Associate Justice Willis Van Devanter allowed Roosevelt to fill the vacancy with a nominee more sympathetic to the New Deal, allowing him to regain a majority of support on the bench. The unexpected and sudden death of the legislation's U.S. Senate quarterback, Senate Majority Leader Joseph T. Robinson, was another mortal wounding of the plan. Following Robinson's death, Vice President John Nance Garner informed Roosevelt, "You are beat. You haven't got the votes."
The late Chief Justice William Rehnquist stated in an address he gave in 2004:
"President Roosevelt lost the Court-packing battle, but he won the war for control of the Supreme Court ... not by any novel legislation, but by serving in office for more than twelve years, and appointing eight of the nine Justices of the Court. In this way the Constitution provides for ultimate responsibility of the Court to the political branches of government. [Yet] it was the United States Senate - a political body if there ever was one - who stepped in and saved the independence of the judiciary ... in Franklin Roosevelt's Court-packing plan in 1937."
FDR proposed to add more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. By adding more Justices who were more philosophically in step with him, FDR's goal was to obtain favorable rulings for pieces of New Deal legislation that had been previously ruled unconstitutional. The most controversial provision of the bill would have granted the President power to appoint up to six more Justices to the court, one for every sitting member over the age of 70.
During Roosevelt's first term, the Court had struck down several of his New Deal measures intended to bolster economic recovery during the Great Depression. Democrats accused a narrow majority of the court of being obstructionist and political. Since the U.S. Constitution does not limit the size of the Supreme Court, Roosevelt sought to counter this entrenched opposition to his political agenda by expanding the size of the court in order to create a pro-New Deal majority on the bench.
The legislation was unveiled on February 5, 1937 and on March 9, 1937, Roosevelt addressed the nation about his plan in one of his "Fireside chats" radio addresses. Later that month, on March 29, the Supreme Court handed down a decision upholding a Washington state minimum wage law in West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish by a 5–4 ruling. Justice Owen Roberts had joined with the wing of the bench that was more sympathetic to the New Deal. Since Roberts had previously ruled against most New Deal legislation, his perceived about-face was widely interpreted by many as an effort to alleviate the political pressure to create a court more friendly to the New Deal. Journalists of the day called his move "the switch in time that saved nine."
Roosevelt's plan failed largely due to adverse public opinion. The retirement of one Supreme Court Associate Justice Willis Van Devanter allowed Roosevelt to fill the vacancy with a nominee more sympathetic to the New Deal, allowing him to regain a majority of support on the bench. The unexpected and sudden death of the legislation's U.S. Senate quarterback, Senate Majority Leader Joseph T. Robinson, was another mortal wounding of the plan. Following Robinson's death, Vice President John Nance Garner informed Roosevelt, "You are beat. You haven't got the votes."
The late Chief Justice William Rehnquist stated in an address he gave in 2004:
"President Roosevelt lost the Court-packing battle, but he won the war for control of the Supreme Court ... not by any novel legislation, but by serving in office for more than twelve years, and appointing eight of the nine Justices of the Court. In this way the Constitution provides for ultimate responsibility of the Court to the political branches of government. [Yet] it was the United States Senate - a political body if there ever was one - who stepped in and saved the independence of the judiciary ... in Franklin Roosevelt's Court-packing plan in 1937."