Constitution Index · H.J.Res. 1 · 2025-01-03
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to require that the Supreme Court of the United States be composed of nine justices.
Latest official status (2026-09-02): On motion to suspend the rules and pass Failed by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 212 - 206 (Roll no. 293).
Constitutional grade
A
Constitutional
HJRES 1 uses the constitutionally prescribed Article V amendment process to fix Supreme Court membership at one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. It asserts no unauthorized federal power, infringes no right, restricts no individual liberty, transfers no decision upward, and denies no process or property. Failed House passage on 2026-09-02 does not affect its constitutional soundness.
Article V Article I, Section 8 Article III, Section 1 Amendment I Amendment II Amendment IV Amendment V Amendment VIII Amendment X Amendment XIV, Section 1
SI-generated grade · passed automated checks (real Constitution citation, language rules) · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology · Report an error: hello@valuesforamerica.com
The five checks
Enumerated powers · passes
Congress has explicit authority to propose constitutional amendments under Article V, requiring two-thirds of both Houses followed by ratification. This joint resolution uses only that lawful channel and claims no new regulatory power under Article I, Section 8. Structuring the Supreme Court is expressly contemplated by Article III, Section 1, which vests the judicial power in one supreme Court and leaves its composition to lawful establishment.
Bill of Rights · passes
Fixing the Court at nine Justices restricts no protected right. It does not limit speech, religion, press, assembly or petition under the First Amendment, does not disarm anyone under the Second Amendment, authorizes no search or seizure under the Fourth Amendment, compels no testimony under the Fifth Amendment, and imposes no punishment under the Eighth Amendment. It preserves the judicial structure contemplated by Article III, Section 1.
Individual liberty · passes
The resolution restricts no personal conduct involving body, property, speech, labor, or belief. It governs only the size of a federal institution under Article III, Section 1. Because there is no restriction on individual liberty, the government bears no additional justification burden beyond its lawful Article V amendment power.
Decentralization · passes
Composition of the Supreme Court of the United States is inherently a national function under Article III, Section 1. No individual, county, or state can constitute the federal Supreme Court. The proposal does not move any new power upward; it locks the existing nine-member structure in place and leaves all powers reserved to the States by the Tenth Amendment untouched.
Due process and takings · passes
The measure orders no arrest, prosecution, seizure, hearing denial, or transfer of property. It therefore triggers no procedural due process, substantive due process, presumption-of-innocence, or just-compensation issue under the Fifth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1. No property is taken and no adjudication is bypassed.
Provenance
- Congress.gov: HJRES 1 summary · fetched 2026-10-08 · official page ↗
Version history · never overwritten
| Grade | Graded | Rubric | Source hash | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A · #245 | 2026-10-08 | vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0 | c1bc1c71a975 | current |
Cite this
Values for America. “Constitutional grade: H.J.Res. 1, Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to require that the Supreme Court of the United States be composed of nine justices..” VFA Constitution Index, grade 245 (rubric vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0), graded October 8, 2026. https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution-index/grades/245. Accessed 2026-10-19.
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