‘Ethical crisis of its own making’: Democrats decry Supreme Court ethics | Court news

A report by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee details new allegations of “lavish gifts” from donors to US Supreme Court justices.

The 93 page reportreleased Saturday concluded a nearly 20-month investigation led by Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin.

It is built upon previous report From the news outlet ProPublica, which raises questions about potential conflicts of interest at the highest court in the land.

However, the report claims it was exposed visits that have never been reported before It was allegedly taken by Justice Clarence Thomas at the expense of real estate developer Harlan Crowe, a well-known supporter of the Republican Party.

While the report also mentions other justices, it singles out Thomas for particular condemnation.

“The number, value, and extravagance of the gifts received by Justice Thomas are unparalleled in modern American history,” the report said.

Justice Thomas has yet to publicly respond to the report’s allegations.

Prominent Senate Democrats like Durbin have long urged the Supreme Court to create a watertight ethics code to prevent conflicts of interest and ensure compliance with disclosure mandates.

In their report, Democrats criticized Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, for not taking stronger steps to address apparent ethics violations.

“Chief Justice Roberts’ unwillingness to implement the only viable solution to the Court’s ethics crisis — an enforceable code of conduct — requires Congress to act to restore public confidence in the highest court in the land,” the report said.

He accused the court of not solving the “ethical crisis it created”.

After ProPublica’s investigation, Roberts took steps to implement the Supreme Court code of ethics.

The court did not have such a code before. But critics have pointed out that the new code, which was unanimously agreed by the judiciary in November 2023, lacks any tools to enforce its principles or investigate possible violations.

This caused more public protest. Gallup polling company informed On December 17th, confidence in the US judicial system fell to a record low, putting it ahead of other relatively wealthy countries.

Gallup found that a median of 55 percent of residents of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries said they trusted their courts.

In the United States, this figure was only 35 percent.

Saturday’s report is likely to contribute to that skepticism. The report itself acknowledges the crisis of public confidence.

“The public is now more aware of the largesse obtained by certain justices and how these justices and their billionaire benefactors act with impunity,” he said.

The report found that “judges appointed by presidents of both parties” engaged in ethically questionable behavior. He criticizes left-leaning Justice Sonia Sotomayor for initially not disclosing travel and accommodations from the University of Rhode Island during her book tour.

However, the report contains some of the harshest criticism of Justice Thomas and his conservative colleagues. Samuel Alito and the late Antonin Scalia.

Many of the incidents have been previously detailed elsewhere. For example, the report notes that Justice Thomas failed to recuse himself in cases where his wife, conservative activist Ginny Thomas, had a stake in the outcome. The report states that this is a violation of federal law.

ProPublica previously noted Thomas’ trips on Crow’s yacht and private jet, potentially worth thousands of dollars. But Saturday’s report also highlighted two newly discovered trips to Saranac, New York, and New York City in October 2021.

In previous public statements, Thomas preserved he “always tried to follow the rules of disclosure”. He also described his outings with Crow as “family trips” with some “dear friends.”

Another friend of Justice Thomas, attorney Mark Paoletta, he answered to a report by Democrats on social media.

He accused Democratic Senators of “slandering” Justice Thomas and attacking the court, which now has a six-to-three conservative majority.

Paoletta wrote: “This whole investigation was never about ‘ethics,’ trying to undermine the Supreme Court.”

“The left invented waiver standards to attack judges (and) try to dissuade them from cases. It didn’t work.”

Earlier this year, in June, Republican senators blocked a Democrat-led bill designed to create an enforcement mechanism for judicial misconduct, called the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act.

But Republicans like Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina have questioned the bill’s constitutionality, calling it an overreach.

In January, Republicans are poised to take a majority in the Senate, which is currently led by Democrats. Once they do, they will control both houses of Congress.