The Importance of Moderation in the Court

If the Supreme Court operated on a panel system, you wouldn't know which justices would hear your case. It makes a big difference in terms of what kinds of cases and arguments people would bring to the court. Most likely, adding 20 justices would moderate the conservative majority just by putting enough people and personalities in the mix that it would be harder for them to do their most destructive work. Getting a majority of 29 justices to overrule a panel decision requires 15 votes.