Biden wrong to say Supreme Court has no session before Election Day

Two days after the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden gave a speech at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. In it, he argued that Ginsburg’s seat should not be filled in a rush, just weeks before a presidential election.

In the speech, Biden said the Constitution "was designed to give voters one chance, one chance to have their voice heard in who serves on the court. And by the way, there’s no court session between now and the end of this election."

The second sentence was seemingly an additional argument for slowing down the process. It seemed to be an ad-lib, since it didn’t appear in the prepared remarks sent out by his campaign. 

But it was incorrect.

On its website, the Supreme Court lists five days of oral arguments scheduled for October: the 5th, 6th, 7th, 13th and 14th. It also lists oral arguments for Nov. 2 and Nov. 3. Nov. 3 is Election Day.

Among the scheduled oral arguments are:

• Tanzin vs. Tanvir, a religious freedom case.

Featured Fact-check

Barack Obama

stated on May 26, 2009 in a speech at the White House.

"Walking in the door (Sonia Sotomayor) would bring more experience on the bench, and more varied experience on the bench, than anyone currently serving on the United States Supreme Court had when they were appointed."

• Google LLC vs. Oracle America Inc., a copyright protection case between Silicon Valley giants.

• Torres vs. Madrid, a Fourth Amendment seizure case.

• Pereida vs. Barr, a case about the definition of a crime for purposes of deportation.

• Jones vs. Mississippi, a juvenile sentencing case.

The Biden campaign did not respond to an inquiry for this article.

Biden said, "There's no court session between now and the end of this election."

That’s disproven by the Supreme Court’s own website, which lists five days of oral arguments in October and two more in November before the polls close.

We rate the statement False.