Chief Justice Roberts Notes Ethics Controversies

Today in the Huffington Post, AFJ President Nan Aron took a look at Chief Justice John Roberts' annual report on the federal judiciary. In his most recent report, Chief Justice Roberts devoted a fair amount of time to the ethics concerns AFJ and others have been raising in recent months. Unfortunately, as Nan documents, the chief justice's defense of his colleagues' behavior misses the mark.

Unfortunately, in spite of substantial evidence to the contrary, the message from Roberts is that he sees no ethics problem at the Court and that no reforms are needed or desirable. Besides, he inferred, no one can make rules for us anyway.

Over 140 law professors, newspaper editorial boards, and groups like Alliance for Justice, Common Cause, and others, have called for increased accountability and transparency from a Court that is steadily and alarmingly losing the trust of the public. The Chief Justice's casual dismissal of the ethics issues as the consequence of "misconceptions" will further erode the Court's credibility.

Calls for reform have been precipitated by a series of actions by some justices that call into question their judgment about ethical matters. For example, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas famously--or infamously--attended events at overtly political strategy conferences hosted by the Koch Brothers, and Justices Scalia, Thomas, and Samuel Alito have headlined and lent their name and prestige of their office to fundraising events for conservative organizations. These activities are expressly prohibited by the Code of Conduct that governs all federal jurists. The Code contains both general and specific ethical rules for all federal judges--except the nine members of the Supreme Court.

The Chief Justice maintains that in spite of their exemption, "All members of the Court do in fact consult the Code of Conduct in assessing their ethical obligations." But the record shows that while some of them may consult it, they apparently don't feel compelled to actually follow it. That's' why reformers are calling on the Court to agree to be formally bound by its provisions.

Read the rest of Nan's analysis on the Huffington Post.

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Press Release: AFJ Calls on Chief Justice Roberts to Address Ethics Issues in His Annual State of the Judiciary Report

AFJ Calls on Chief Justice Roberts to Address Ethics Issues
in His Annual State of the Judiciary Report

Washington, D.C., December 22, 2011—Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron today issued the following open letter to Chief Justice John Roberts in advance of the release of his annual Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary:

Dear Mr. Chief Justice:

With the time fast approaching for your annual Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, I am writing on behalf of Alliance for Justice to respectfully urge you to take advantage of this important opportunity to address questions that have arisen about the ethical standards governing the Supreme Court. We, among many others, are growing increasingly concerned that the recent decline in public approval of the Court is due in part not only to the well-publicized and ethically questionable actions of some justices, but also to the lack of clear and unequivocal precepts governing justices’ behavior.

As you know, all other federal jurists are subject to the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, yet the Supreme Court, our nation’s most important legal institution, is currently exempt. We understand that several justices and Court spokespeople have made public statements that the Code is used as guidance and that justices voluntarily follow its rules, but the recent record demonstrates that either that is not true for all justices or there is a lack of understanding of what the Code requires.  For example, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas recently attended a fundraising dinner at which they were the honored guests and main speakers, and allowed their names and images to be used to publicize the event. All of these activities are prohibited by Canon 4C of the Code, which states that “a judge should not personally participate in fund-raising activities,” and which goes on to specify in commentary that a judge “may not be a speaker, a guest of honor, or featured on the program” of a fundraiser.

Incidents like this one demonstrate the need for clarity and certainty about the ethical standards which bind the Court. The nation can ill-afford to allow ethical uncertainties to cloud public perceptions of the Court, its justices, and, the decisions they make. The simplest, most direct approach is for the Court itself to make an explicit public declaration that the Code of Conduct governs justices’ behavior and to formally adopt it as the Court’s own rule.

We urge you to take the occasion of your 2011 Year-End Report to restate the Court’s obligation to maintain the highest ethical standards and to make a commitment to beginning the process of finally and officially adopting the Code of Conduct.

Sincerely,

Nan Aron
President, Alliance for Justice

*   *   *

Alliance for Justice has prepared a background report on the Federalist Society fundraising dinner of November 10, 2011, at which Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas were the guests of honor, and which has the hallmarks of an activity that is prohibited by the Code of Conduct for United States Judges. It is available online at: www.afj.org/FederalistFundraiser.

In addition, extensive background materials on Supreme Court ethics rules and current controversies are available for download at www.aquestionofintegrity.org. The issue is also discussed in AFJ’s new short documentary film, A Question of Integrity: Politics, Ethics, and the Supreme Court, which can be viewed online.

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What's standing in the way of reform?

The Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges lays out ethical guidelines to protect the integrity of our judicial system, and its rules bind every federal judge... except nine. Can you guess which?

That's right... the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges applies to every federal judge except the nine justices of the Supreme Court.

As Slate.com Senior Editor Dahlia Lithwick put it in AFJ's latest film, "When you tell people that the Code of Conduct applies to everyone but Supreme Court justices, they think it's a joke. That's how preposterous it is."

But we can change that, right now. Sign our petition and send a message to Chief Justice John Roberts and let him know that it's time for every Supreme Court justice to follow the same rules that govern every other federal judge in America.

Several Supreme Court justices have recently made headlines by engaging in behavior that likely would not be permitted if they sat on lower courts.

• Justice Alito has headlined fundraisers for right-wing groups such as the American Spectator magazine.
• Justices Scalia and Thomas attended political strategy and fundraising conferences hosted by the ultra-conservative billionaire Koch brothers. The justices have also allowed their names to be used to draw attendees.
• Justice Thomas maintains a relationship with conservative funder Harlan Crow that stretches the appearance of unethical behavior beyond the breaking point.

There's nothing stopping the Court from voluntarily adopting the Code of Conduct and putting an end to the kind of behavior that has left many Americans wondering if Supreme Court justices are becoming "politicians in robes."

Click here to send a message to John Roberts. Tell him that the Court could voluntarily adopt the Code of Conduct RIGHT NOW and put these fears to rest by preserving the integrity of our nation's highest legal institution.

Reform can happen. The same Code of Conduct that's good enough for every other federal judge is good enough for the nine justices of the Supreme Court. Take action today and make sure that Chief Justice Roberts understands that his Court faces a question of integrity... and that his answer can protect the Court from harmful poltical influence.

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Chief Justice Roberts Calls for Ending the Blocking of Judicial Confirmations

In his annual year-end report on the federal judiciary, Chief Justice Roberts called for increased judicial confirmations, writing that a "persistent problem" in confirming judges has caused some courts to become "burdened with extraordinary caseloads." Though he did not cite any statistics in his report, Chief Justice Roberts was referring to the fact that there are currently 110 vacancies for lifetime federal judgeships, 44 of which are considered "judicial emergencies" by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

These numbers are all the more striking because they have more than doubled since the beginning of President Obama's term in office, when there were only 55 vacancies and 20 judicial emergencies. Obama's experience stands in stark contrast to Presidents Bush and Clinton, both of whom were able to significantly reduce the number of judicial vacancies that they inherited by the end of their first two years in office.

For the most up-to-date and comprehensive information on judicial nominations, visit Alliance for Justice's Judicial Selection Project website.

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Now you tell us, Senator Specter!

Outgoing Senator Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania is now complaining that Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito, both of whom he eagerly voted to confirm, weren’t being completely honest about their intentions during their confirmation hearings.

Specter said on the Senate floor Tuesday:

Ignoring a massive congressional record and reversing recent decisions, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito repudiated their confirmation testimony given under oath and provided the key votes to permit corporations and unions to secretly pay for political advertising - thus effectively undermining the basic Democratic principle of the power of one person, one vote. Chief Justice Roberts promised to just call balls and strikes and then he moved the bases.

None of this surprises us, of course. We made the case against both of them, but he wouldn’t listen. Sorry, Arlen, but this comes just a little too late.

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