COURT-PACKING PLAN

The Court-packing plan (as the judicial reorganization bill was called by its opponents) was submitted to Congress by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 5, 1937, shortly after his landslide reelection. Although Roosevelt presented his plan as a simple organizational reform, he was clearly motivated by the consistent opposition that New Deal legislation had been encountering in the federal courts, most notably the Supreme Court's recent invalidation of such laws as the National Industrial Recovery Act, the Railroad Retirement Act, and the Agricultural Adjustment Act. The president proposed that the federal judiciary be expanded by adding one new judge for each sitting justice over the age of seventy; a total of fifty new judgeships could be created, including a maximum of six on the Supreme Court. The bill also included other measures to streamline judicial action.

Roosevelt's proposal met with fiery opposition. Many accused the president of seeking to subvert the Constitution and destroy the independence of the judiciary. Even some of those sympathetic to the president's purposes felt that the changes he sought should be made only by constitutional amendment. In addition, Roosevelt antagonized potential supporters within his own party by refusing to consult with them on the bill or consider changes in it. In March, the president launched a personal campaign on behalf of his proposal, arguing that national progress was being blocked by the prejudices of the Court majority and that his plan would restore, rather than threaten, the balance of power among the three branches of government.

Pressure for passage of the bill was weakened by the retirement of one conservative Supreme Court justice; by the death of Senator Joseph Robinson, who had been leading the fight for the plan; and by the fact that several major pieces of New Deal legislation (including the Social Security Act and the National Labor Relations Act) were upheld by the Court between March and May 1937. In August, the Judicial Procedure Reform Act was passed instead, incorporating some of the president's recommendations but leaving the number of federal justices unchanged. Over the next four years, a combination of deaths and retirements enabled Roosevelt to make seven appointments to the Court.

See also New Deal; Supreme Court.