Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

General Discussion

onenote

(46,447 posts)

8. Justice William O. Douglas served for over 36 years

Reply to QueerDuck (Original post)

Mon Jun 29, 2026, 02:54 PM

Jun 29

And retired at age 77 only because he had a stroke.
He was a legendary progressive and had he been forced from office after 18 years, he would have been replaced by a republican president and not participated in many of the most significant supreme court cases in history.

Also, are we talking about limiting the number of years a justice can serve or a maximum age? If RBG, who didn't begin serving until she was 60, had been forced to retire in 2008, her replacement might have been appointed by Bush.

In other words, one should be careful about what they want.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

17 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

The Supreme Court needs term limits now. [View all] QueerDuck Jun 29 OP

34 years of utterly incompetent votes. Klarkashton Jun 29 #1

But then Trump could replace him with Cannon Bmoboy Jun 29 #2

18 years should be enough for any Senator, Congresman, or Senator... kentuck Jun 29 #3

Agreed. If I wouldn't trust a 1998 Dell desktop to run my household budget today... QueerDuck Jun 29 #5

Here are some of the Justices your 18 year rule would have forced from office onenote Jun 29 #10

And would they not have been "great" if they had only served 18 years? kentuck Jun 29 #16

"Now"? maxsolomon Jun 29 #4

It's a figure of speech about urgency, not an expectation of instant magic. But, fine, let's change the wording to... QueerDuck Jun 29 #6

OK. How do we do that? Do you know? MineralMan Jun 29 #7

First, we all form a giant circle, hold hands, and wish really hard. QueerDuck Jun 29 #9

The magic circle is more likely to work sarisataka Jun 29 #13

Well, unless we can win strong majorities in Congress, MineralMan Jun 29 #14

Let's do that too! QueerDuck Jun 29 #15

Justice William O. Douglas served for over 36 years onenote Jun 29 #8

Fair points on the history! But designing a modern democracy... QueerDuck Jun 29 #11

We could do this... jmowreader Jun 29 #12

A Constitutional Amendment Locutusofborg Jun 29 #17