Curtail the Cult of Judicial Celebrity

This summer I have spent some time proposing different reform of the Supreme Court that have nothing to do with its composition or jurisdiction. As I often say, the clearest way to affect how the Justices do their job is to make the Justices do more of their own work. My latest proposal, published in Civitas, seeks the curtail the cult of judicial celebrity on the left and the right. In short, Congress should make the Supreme Court boring again.

The task is actually straightforward: make the Supreme Court Justices feel like lower court judges. I would ask and answer two questions. First, what should they do when they are not working? The same sorts of mundane activities that lower court judges engage in. There should be no special perks for being a Justice. Second, what about outside income? Justices should not profit from their jobs. Any book royalties should be donated to the Holmes Devise. Congress could increase the Justices’ salaries, but they would have the same cost of living as other judges in Washington, who have far fewer perks. As we say in Texas, these steps will make sure the Justices do not get too big for their britches.

From the conclusion:

These proposals would change nothing about the Court’s docket, decisions, or deliberations. But they would hopefully curtail the cult of judicial celebrity. Indeed, these proposals, more than Court packing, term limits, or jurisdiction stripping, would change how Justices understand their role in the operations of the federal government and would slowly change citizens’ perceptions of their stature in the government. affect