Rhode Island's Sen. Whitehouse leading push for Supreme Court term limits. How it would work.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse's new plan to overhaul the U.S. Supreme Court would see a new justice appointed every two years and limited to an 18-year term.

The Rhode Island Democrat, who has said ethical conflicts on the court threaten its legitimacy, introduced the Supreme Court Biennial Appointments and Term Limits Act on Thursday "to restore the integrity of this scandal-plagued court."

How would term limits for the Supreme Court work?

The bill, introduced with backing from Senators Cory Booker, D-N.J., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., would maintain nine members – those most recently appointed – hearing the majority of cases. After 18 years on the bench, each justice would begin hearing only a select number of constitutionally specified cases.

“An organized scheme by right-wing special interests to capture and control the Supreme Court, aided by gobs of billionaire dark money flowing through the confirmation process and judicial lobbying, has resulted in an unaccountable court out of step with the American people," Whitehouse said in a news release. "Term limits and biennial appointments would make the court more representative of the public and lower the stakes of each justice’s appointment, while preserving constitutional protections for judicial independence. As Congress considers multiple options to restore the integrity of this scandal-plagued court, our term limits bill should be front and center as a potential solution."

In a series of floor speeches, Whitehouse has railed against the influence of conservative groups in selecting Supreme Court justices and of gifts from billionaires to GOP-appointed Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Last month he filed an ethics complaint against Alito for not disclosing gifts and travel.

The new term limits bill seeks to takes advantage of the fact that the constitution requires all justices to hear a select number of "original jurisdiction" cases that include disputes with foreign governments and between states.

But most cases that reach the high court are appeals of decisions from lower courts, and Whitehouse says Congress has the authority to make exceptions to regulations governing how these cases are heard.

While only the nine most recently appointed justices would hear appellate cases, "the justices who no longer hear appellate jurisdiction cases would retain the authority to hear original jurisdiction cases and to exercise all other powers of the office," the Whitehouse news release said. "If one of the justices who regularly hears appellate jurisdiction cases has a conflict of interest or is otherwise unavailable to hear a case, another justice who hears only original jurisdiction cases may fill in."

A new member would be added to the high court within the first 120 days of the first and third years of each presidential term, subject to Senate confirmation.

According to the Supreme Court's website, the average length a justice on the court serves is 16 years, while the longest term a chief justice has served is 34 years.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Supreme Court justice term limits could happen under new bill from Whitehouse