Pontiac Times

Presidential hopeful Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, have been vague about whether they'd "pack" the U.S. Supreme Court, but it's almost a certainty if the Democrats win big next month, a conservative legal expert recently said.

Adding new justices to the Supreme Court could well happen, Zack Smith, a legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation's Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, said during the Oct. 14 edition of "The Steve Gruber Show" podcast.

Packing the nation's highest court would be a tempting option for victorious Democrats should President Donald Trump's nominee, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett, make onto that bench, as is expected, according to Smith.

Former Vice President Joe Biden | stock photo

But that isn't the story Biden and Harris are willingly owning up to.

"Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, they’ve been asked repeatedly whether they would support court packing," Smith said during the podcast. "And Joe Biden essentially said, ‘You'll have to elect me to find out.’ Well, that's a silly answer."

Meanwhile, Harris in "on record prior to this, saying she would be open to the idea of court packing," Smith told Gruber. "So if the Democrats were to control the Senate, control the White House, it looks like court packing may be a serious idea that's discussed."

Barrett’s confirmation hearings concluded Oct. 15, following five days of proceedings before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on Barrett's nomination on Thursday, Oct. 22, according to USA Today.

If Barrett passes the committee, as is expected, then her nomination would move to the full Senate.

Barrett has served on the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals since May 2017, following her nomination by President Donald Trump and her confirmation by the Senate. She also has been a Notre Dame Law School professor, teaching civil procedure, statutory interpretation and constitutional law.

Barrett's nomination likely will go through as expected, Smith said during the podcast.

"Well, that's certainly the goal," Smith told Gruber. "I think [Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman] Lindsey Graham, [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell deserve a lot of credit for prioritizing this, for doing everything they can to be sure that the Judiciary Committee hearings have proceeded expeditiously, that senators are primed to take a floor vote, hopefully by the end of the month."