Remaking the United States Supreme Court in the Courts' of Appeals Image

Abstract:     
We argue that Congress should remake the United States Supreme Court in the U.S. courts' of appeals image by increasing the size of the Court's membership, authorizing panel decisionmaking, and retaining an en banc procedure for select cases. In doing so, Congress would expand the Court's capacity to decide cases, facilitating enhanced clarity and consistency in the law as well as heightened monitoring of lower courts and the other branches. Remaking the Court in this way would not only expand the Court's decisionmaking capacity but also improve the Court's composition, competence, and functioning.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 38

Keywords: Justices, Supreme Court, Decision-making, Panels, Groups

working papers series