Law360: New Report Champions Term Limits For Supreme Court.

Term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices would reduce the likelihood of extreme ideological imbalances on the court and ensure the bench better reflects the country's state of affairs, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

A bipartisan group of legal scholars lent credence to calls to do away with lifelong appointments to the nation's highest court, saying in a 32-page report that 18-year terms followed by optional senior status service would limit "problematic strategic behavior" related to the court, including tactical retirements and stalemates during a nominee's confirmation process.

The U.S. Supreme Court Working Group of the academy, a research center founded in 1780, suggests justices should be required to either retire or take senior status at the end of their terms. Senior justices would operate in similar capacities as senior judges on lower courts do, and they would have a set of duties and responsibilities such as sitting on circuit courts by designation or filling in on the Supreme Court's bench when there are vacancies caused by recusals or illnesses.