Court Packing
Definition of Court Packing
Note: See a more comprehensive approach to the Court Packing legal concept in the American Law Encyclopedia
Changing the orientation of an appellate court by increasing its size. Court “packing” is legally possible because Congress and most state legislatures have the power to change the size of federal and state appellate courts, respectively. If a particular appellate court, the U.S. Supreme Court for example, renders a series of decisions that are incompatible with the policy priorities of Congress or the president, the Congress could increase the size of the Court. New justices could be added, and the larger Court would then presumably render more acceptable decisions. Six justices were authorized for the first Supreme Court. The number was temporarily reduced to five in 1801, but returned to six in 1804. The number of justices was then elevated one at a time as new judicial circuits were created with the addition of new states. The number stabilized at nine in 1869.
See Also
Court “Curbing” (Law of the United States).
Resources
Court Packing Related Resources
- Court Packing in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
- Judicial Effects and Policies Keywords in the United States Legal Encyclopedia
- Judicial Policies Keywords in the International Legal Dictionary
Notes
- “Court Packing”, The American Law Dictionary, 1991, California
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