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The number of attempts by the GOP in recent years to pack or shrink the size of state supreme courts is incredible.
https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6705&context=faculty_scholarship
https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6705&context=faculty_scholarship
2016: Along a party line vote and over the objections of the Chief Justice, the Arizona GOP adds two seats to the state supreme court. https://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/ducey-signs-law-adding-2-justices-to-arizona-supreme-court/article_19f500f3-4db7-5d64-b6c4-2b053df92a00.html
2016: Again over the objections of its own justices, the Georgia GOP expands the court from 7 to 9. This represents something of a compromise for state Republicans, as they had previously sought to expand the court to 13. https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/expansion-georgia-supreme-court-wins-final-approval/skmjVHCCo80HW4hXZKL6rM/
In 2011, the Florida GOP tried (but mercifully failed) to split its supreme court into two benches, while simultaneously adding three new seats. They had tried something similar four years earlier. https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/house-plan-would-split-the-supreme-court/
2010: Republicans introduced a court packing bill when the court ruled in favor of gay marriage, though this proved unnecessary after a well-funded recall campaign resulted in the removal of three justices. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/us/politics/04judges.html
Republicans have also attempted to shrink state supreme courts in Montana (in 2011), Oklahoma (2017), and Washington (2013), in each case because of adverse rulings. Fortunately, none were successful.
So bracketing for a moment GOP-led attempts to impeach, recall, or otherwise remove state supreme court justices, there seems to be a degree of Republican comfort with altering the size of final courts of appeals via packing/un-packing.
But maybe this is a mistake? I suggest a public opinion survey in Arizona and Georgia (maybe Iowa and West Virginia as well) to examine whether the judiciary's reputation has been irreparably damaged by perfidious conservative court packing.
The author of the article is @marinklevy, who definitely deserves a follow. Also, if I were @zackbeauchamp or @mattyglesias or some other similarly-minded person, I’d interview her quick!
