The Constitution does not specify a Supreme court of 9 justices, and 9 has not always been the size of the court (although 9 has been typical). Start with some history of this. Then ask who would benefit from a larger court? What size would be optimal? Given that the Democrats now control the House and Senate, can they enlarge the court (this is often called “packing” the court in the press)? How and to what end? What is likely to happen in the long run (say, when the Republicans some day regain control of the House and Senate). What is the history of “court packing”?Biden has said he is reluctant to pack the court. Why?
The paper you write must have actual mathematical content (in fact the math should be the theme of your paper). You may (i.e., you probably should) should illustrate the mathematics with formulas, calculations, statistics (by which I mean data), tables and possibly diagrams. Your paper should also have some political comment (the math must relate to politics). Some cultural or historical perspective will make your paper more interesting.
