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Court Packing Plan

Definition

The Court Packing Plan was a legislative initiative proposed by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937 to add more justices to the U.S Supreme Court with an aim of obtaining favorable rulings regarding New Deal legislation that had been previously ruled unconstitutional.

Analogy

Imagine you're playing a game where you keep losing because your team is outnumbered or outplayed. So you decide to bring more players onto your team who are likely going play according your strategy - That's essentially what FDR tried doing with his court-packing plan!

Related terms

Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937: This was another name for FDR’s court packing plan; it proposed reforms intended to reorganize the federal judiciary and allow Roosevelt to appoint up to six additional justices.

Checks and Balances: This is a fundamental principle of the U.S. government, where each branch (executive, legislative, judicial) has some measure of influence over the other branches and may choose to block procedures of the other branches.

Constitutionality: The condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; laws that were in conflict with the constitution were often challenged before the Supreme Court.