Washington, D.C. – Twelve former State Attorneys General, including eight elected as Democrats, Robert Abrams, D, NY, George Jepsen, D, CT, Tony Troy, D, VA, Drew Ketterer D, ME, Chris Gorman D, KY Kentucky, Jerry Diamond D, VT, Drew Edmondson, D, OK, Peter Kilmartin D, RI, Jahna Lindemuth, Independent, AK Betty Montgomery R, OH, Jerry Kilgore R, VA, and Tom Corbett, R, and former Governor, PA have newly endorsed the “Keep Nine” Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The Keep Nine Amendment, would be the shortest Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It says simply, “The Supreme Court of the United States shall be composed of nine Justices.”
The 12 former State Attorneys General join a bipartisan group of eight other former State Attorneys General, including 6 elected as Democrats, who have already endorsed the Amendment: Bill Baxley, AL, Richard Doran, FL, and Jim Jones. ID, Gary King, NM, Rufus Edmisten, NC, Paul Summers, TN, Andrew Miller, VA, and Stephen Rosenthal, VA.
“There is no more important issue for the future of our Constitutional system of checks and balances than protecting the independence of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Keep Nine Amendment will permanently prohibit a future President and Congress from manipulating the size of the Supreme Court for political advantage” said Paul Summers, a Co-Chair of the “Keep Nine” effort.
The Constitution is silent on the number of U.S. Supreme Court Justices and some progressives, including Democratic Vice- Presidential nominee Kamala Harris, have said they are open to passing a law to increase the number of Justices, so more who share their views could be appointed to the Court, a strategy called “Court packing.”
The “Keep Nine” Amendment effort is urging candidates for office at every level to endorse the Amendment to guard against any future “Court packing” attempt.
To reach a spokesperson from Keep Nine, please contact Will Hadden at [email protected] or call 703.739.5920
