PWPP News: Supreme Conflict

Supreme Conflict
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Common Cause on October, 13, 2011 11:57:00

Highest Court Shouldn't Be Held To Lowest Standard

In Congress, at the Supreme Court and at the Department of Justice,  Common
Cause is pressing for new laws and procedures to make Supreme  Court justices
live by the same code of ethics that covers other federal  judges. While federal
law sets broad ethical guidelines for judges, the  federal judiciary's Code of
Ethics and the specific rules it includes for most other judges do not apply  to
the Supreme Court. As a result, the justices seem to have an ethical  immunity
that Common Cause believes is unhealthy for our system of  justice.
Common Cause’s focus on the Supreme Court grew out of a landmark campaign
finance case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, that  in early
2010 lifted the ban on corporate and union spending on  political campaigns. The
ruling sent a flood of corporate and  undisclosed money into the mid-term
elections, drowning out the voices  of ordinary Americans.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, who sided with the  majority in
that case, have ties to a major beneficiary of the decision,  Koch Industries,
one of the largest privately held corporations in the  nation. Brothers Charles
and David Koch, who lead the company and spend  millions each year on political
activism, bragged that Scalia and Thomas were featured guests at political
strategy "seminars" the brothers host regularly for members of Congress,
political operatives, and big donors.
Because even the appearance of bias undercuts public confidence in our courts,
judges  aren’t supposed to be involved in political activity. Common Cause 
asked the Justice Department to investigate and take other steps  outlined in
this letter.
While looking into the justices’ possible connections to Koch Industries,
Common Cause discovered that Justice Thomas failed for several years to report
the source of  his wife’s income on a federal disclosure form, as required by
law.  After this was brought to his attention, Thomas amended the filing.
Common Cause is now backing legislation that  would extend the Judicial Code of
Conduct to the Supreme Court and  require each justice to explain his or her
decision to step aside, or  decline to step aside, when litigants raise
questions about potential  conflicts of interest.
These reforms are critical to preserving and strengthening the  administration
of justice. Action by the court to hold its members to  the highest ethical
standards will enhance the court’s moral as well as  legal authority.
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