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Tags: dictionary | court packing

Dictionary.com Changes Definition of Court Packing

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Tuesday, 08 December 2020 10:52 PM EST

Dictionary.com caught some some flack on Twitter Tuesday, after some users noticed it had changed the definition of the term "court packing."

One Twitter user went to the "Wayback Machine" on the Internet Archive and compared the old and new definitions for the term which has become debated in political circles following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg in September.

President Donald Trump subsequently replaced her with his own pick, Amy Coney Barrett, though Democrats insisted he should have waited until the outcome of the election. Now, supporters of Joe Biden want him to "pack the court," by adding additional members to the current nine justices — something President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried unsuccessfully to do.

In the old case of "court packing," Roosevelt's example appeared as the sole definition. But now, the definition reads, "Court packing can tip the balance of the Supreme Court toward the right or left."

Not everyone felt the change was a move based on leftist partisan politics. One user noted: "This isn't sinister to me at all. The old definition was subpar, because it defined it solely in reference to one obvious historical example. They improved the definition in a way that, to me, isn't controversial or political."

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Dictionary.com caught some some flack on Twitter Tuesday, after some users noticed it had changed the definition of the term "court packing."
dictionary, court packing
207
2020-52-08
Tuesday, 08 December 2020 10:52 PM
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