"I therefore recommend that the Congress provide measures... by which... when any judge of a Federal Court shall fail to retire upon reaching the age of seventy, a new member shall be appointed by the President... A part of the problem of obtaining a sufficient number of judges to dispose of cases is the capacity of the judges themselves. This brings forward the question of aged or infirm judges—a subject of delicacy and yet one which requires frank discussion." — FDR's Court-Packing Message to Congress (February 5, 1937)
Despite the plan's defeat, FDR ultimately achieved his judicial goals through
- Acheck_circle
the "switch in time" by Justice Roberts and a wave of retirements that let him appoint sympathetic justices
- B
direct removal of sitting justices
- C
a constitutional amendment limiting Court size
- D
merger of the Supreme Court with the Court of Claims
Explanation
Beginning with West Coast Hotel v. Parrish (1937), the Court began upholding New Deal laws; subsequent retirements gave FDR eight appointments by 1943.