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Do you think the US made a mistake in this year's election?

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  • #91
    "Stacking the Supreme Court (SCOTUS)" is accepted terminology for putting idealogues on the court specifically so they will vote according to the Pres's beliefs on selected issues. FDR did threaten to "Pack" SCOTUS. However, that would have required a constitutional amendment and his advisers suspected he could not get 3/4 of the states.
    No matter where you go, there you are. - Buckaroo Banzai
    "I played it [Civilization] for three months and then realised I hadn't done any work. In the end, I had to delete all the saved files and smash the CD." Iain Banks, author

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    • #92
      However, that would have required a constitutional amendment and his advisers suspected he could not get 3/4 of the states.


      No. Congress fixes the size of the court with ordinary legislation.
      12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
      Stadtluft Macht Frei
      Killing it is the new killing it
      Ultima Ratio Regum

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      • #93


        The United States Constitution does not specify the size of the Supreme Court; instead, Article III of the Constitution gives Congress the power to fix the number of Justices.
        12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
        Stadtluft Macht Frei
        Killing it is the new killing it
        Ultima Ratio Regum

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        • #94
          Otherwise there would have been no point in threatening to increase the number of Justices (instead, Roosevelt could simply have gotten whatever legislation he wanted passed as an amendment).
          12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
          Stadtluft Macht Frei
          Killing it is the new killing it
          Ultima Ratio Regum

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          • #95
            Originally posted by KrazyHorse
            He didn't try it either AFAIK. Just threatened to.
            Hmmm. Reading the wikipedia entry I take this back. Legislation was proposed and failed to pass Congress.
            12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
            Stadtluft Macht Frei
            Killing it is the new killing it
            Ultima Ratio Regum

            Comment


            • #96
              Yep, Congress had changed the size of SCOTUS a few times.
              "Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before. He is full of murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by their ignorance the hard way. "
              -Bokonon

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              • #97
                My point was obviously that "stacking the court" doesn't necessarily mean what you think it does (though it could be used that way).
                It's a synonym. I've read articles using it interchangeably with "packing"...

                The method most frequently employed to bring the Supreme Court to heel has been increasing or decreasing its membership.

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                • #98
                  Catch up, NGR. we've moved on to FDR's actual attempt. KH is keeping us informed of his research as he goes.
                  No matter where you go, there you are. - Buckaroo Banzai
                  "I played it [Civilization] for three months and then realised I hadn't done any work. In the end, I had to delete all the saved files and smash the CD." Iain Banks, author

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                  • #99
                    Only thing I didn't know was that legislation was actually introduced. You thought changing size of court required same standard as an amendment.
                    12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
                    Stadtluft Macht Frei
                    Killing it is the new killing it
                    Ultima Ratio Regum

                    Comment


                    • He also thinks "stacking the court" is "accepted terminology for putting idealogues on the court specifically so they will vote according to the Pres's beliefs on selected issues."

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                      • It's a synonym. I've read articles using it interchangeably with "packing"...

                        http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/26/opinion/26smith.html


                        You mean "article" in the singular, right? After a cursory google search, I think that NYT opinion piece is the only mainstream source that I found where it was used that way (technically, a WSJ blog used that term in this manner when it was linking to that article). That usage is obviously not very common. What Jrabbit said is perfectly fine.
                        "Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before. He is full of murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by their ignorance the hard way. "
                        -Bokonon

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                        • A cursory Google search reveals no mainstream sources that use "stacking" in the way Jrabbit did. The few examples that exist are from obscure blogs and the like. It's an uncommon term, but the accepted usage is as a synonym for "packing".

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                          • A single opinion piece at a paper doesn't define "accepted usage."

                            To be clear, I'm saying is that there is obviously no specific meaning attached to "stacking the court," and should be interpreted literally, and therefore could be used in either sense.
                            "Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before. He is full of murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by their ignorance the hard way. "
                            -Bokonon

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                            • A single opinion piece at a paper doesn't define "accepted usage."
                              It's not just any paper. It's the paper of record.

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                              • Why do they call it that?
                                (\__/)
                                (='.'=)
                                (")_(") This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your signature to help him gain world domination.

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