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

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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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Press Release: U.S. Senate Takes Holiday Break, Leaving a Lump of Coal in the Stocking of America's Federal Courts

U.S. Senate Takes Holiday Break, Leaving a Lump of Coal
in the Stocking of America's Federal Courts

Washington, D.C., December 20, 2011—Once again, the United States Senate has left town for a holiday without fulfilling its obligation to fully staff the federal courts and ensure that justice is available to all Americans. With 100 judicial vacancies in the federal court system, Senate Republicans continued their widely condemned tactics of obstruction and endless delay, and prevented final consideration of 21 nominees who have been cleared by the Senate Judiciary Committee, in most cases with no opposition, and who simply need a final yes-or-no vote to take their seats on the seriously understaffed federal bench.

Sadly, 2011 will end in the same way it began, with one in nine federal judgeships unfilled and Republican promises to restore the nominations process to fairness and rationality in tatters. When the Senate returns in January it will find 37 of the President’s nominees in the nominations pipeline, either in committee or on the floor, and it will have an opportunity to both restore faith in the constitutional nominations process and to bring the woefully understaffed federal courts back to health.

Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron called on the Senate to mend its ways in the coming year, saying, “All Americans should be saddened, if not infuriated, by the endless political games being played with our federal court system. There seems to be no limit to the depths to which Republican senators will sink to appease their most extreme constituencies. Deals for action are cut by the leadership and then broken under pressure from hyper-partisan ideologues. The president’s nominees, all distinguished, highly qualified men and women, are treated with disrespect and stuck in legislative limbo for months on end. The courts are left without enough judges to do their work. Senate traditions are trashed. National polls showing support for Congress at record lows prove that the American people are tired of this kind of gridlock and gamesmanship. Obviously, we have run out of time for action this year, but for the sake of the nation, 2012 must tell a different story. Starting in January, willful obstruction must end and the confirmation process must be allowed to proceed in a rational and constructive way.”

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Press Release: AFJ Condemns Senate Failure to Confirm Caitlin Halligan

Washington, D.C., December 6, 2011—Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron issued the following statement on the failure to end the Republican filibuster of the nomination of Caitlin Halligan to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit:

Today’s vote by Republicans to filibuster the nomination of Caitlin Halligan has shattered any pretense that the judicial confirmation process is being conducted in a rational or honest manner. Ms. Halligan’s record of achievement in public service and private practice is impeccable and there is no conceivable justification for denying her a final vote. The notion advanced by her opponents that she is somehow out of the mainstream of legal thought or holds extreme views is ludicrous and reflects a breathtaking level of dishonesty and hypocrisy. Today’s vote, combined with a three-year record of unrelenting obstruction, demonstrates that Senate Republicans have abandoned fairness and responsibility and are forcing the woefully understaffed federal judiciary to pay the price for their increasingly shrill and destructive partisan games. It is clear beyond any doubt that the 2005 agreement forbidding filibusters except under “extraordinary circumstances” is now dead and that Republicans have broken their promise to the American people to deal with judicial nominations in a fair and principled way. Today’s vote is a tragedy for the country, for the judiciary, for Senate tradition, and for Caitlin Halligan, who has been unjustly denied an opportunity to serve our nation.

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For the most accurate, up-to-date information on the judicial selection process, visit the Alliance for Justice’s Judicial Selection page.

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AFJ Urges Full-Scale Push To Confirm Judicial Nominations When Congress Returns In September

PRESS RELEASE

ALLIANCE FOR JUSTICE URGES FULL SCALE PUSH TO CONFIRM JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS WHEN CONGRESS RETURNS IN SEPTEMBER

Washington, D.C., August 4, 2011— When the United States Senate left town this week for its August recess, it left behind the unfinished business of fully staffing the federal courts. Twenty nominees to federal district and circuit courts of appeal were left stranded on the Senate floor, unable to get a final confirmation vote as Republicans continued their tactics of endless delay and unwavering obstruction. Even including the four nominees approved on Tuesday, Republican leadership has allowed votes on only 10 nominees to lifetime seats in the last 12 weeks.

Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron repeated her call for action to end the crisis that has left federal courts across the country understaffed and increasingly unable to serve the interests of justice. “This week, once again, Republicans in the Senate have proven that they are willing to use the federal courts as pawns in an increasingly destructive and irresponsible partisan game,” she said. “This has been going on since Day One of the Obama presidency and it has to stop. The president has done his part to increase the pace of nominations. The Senate Judiciary Committee has vetted and voted on nominees at a brisk and responsible pace. But Republican leaders bring the entire process to a screeching halt on the Senate floor. When Congress returns in September, the blockade must end and the process must be allowed to move forward before more damage is done.”

Aron also praised the statement made today by White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler highlighting the gender and racial diversity of President Obama’s appointments. “One of President Obama’s greatest achievements is the extraordinary progress he has made in bringing diversity to the federal bench,” Aron explained. “It’s striking, in fact, that half of the 20 nominees currently being blocked from receiving final Senate votes are women. The old glass ceiling has apparently been replaced by a brick wall of intransigence and political gamesmanship.”

The plain unvarnished facts of the judicial crisis serve as evidence of the complete breakdown of the confirmation process and an unprecedented and reckless abandonment of constitutional responsibilities by Senate Republicans:

•    In January, at the beginning of the 112th Congress, there were 114 vacant or imminently vacant judgeships in the federal judiciary – more than one in seven authorized judgeships.

•    Today, the federal bench has 111 judgeships currently or imminently vacant, including 35 that are so serious that they are considered judicial emergencies by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

•    This year, the Senate has confirmed about one nominee per week. This sluggish pace has been almost completely offset by the creation of approximately one new vacancy per week due to retirements or deaths.

•    Overall, at this point in their first terms, Presidents Clinton and Bush had seen 152 and 144 of their federal district and circuit nominees confirmed, respectively. The Senate has only confirmed 93 of President Obama’s nominees.

•    If the current confirmation pace holds there will be approximately the same number of judicial vacancies at the end of the year as there were at the beginning of the year.

•    The Senate recessed without taking action on 20 nominees pending on the floor.  Sixteen of these nominees were reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee without opposition from Republicans, and three others were reported out with strong bipartisan support.  Ten of the pending nominees would fill seats considered to be “judicial emergencies” by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

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Alliance for Justice is the leading provider of information on judicial nominations. A continuously updated statistical summary of the nominations process is available here: http://www.afj.org/judicial-selection/judicial-selection-snapshot.pdf.

Additional information is also available on the AFJ Website at http://www.afj.org/judicial-selection/.

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AFJ Disappointed that 20 Judicial Nominations Are Left Behind as Senate Goes on Summer Vacation

PRESS RELEASE

AFJ Disappointed that 20 Judicial Nominations Are Left Behind as Senate Goes on Summer Vacation

Washington, D.C., August 2, 2011—Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron issued the following statement as the United States Senate adjourned for the summer, confirming only four of the 24 judicial nominations awaiting final votes on the Senate floor:

After dealing with the federal budget deficit, the United States Senate has now adjourned for the summer, apparently willing to leave the federal judge deficit largely unaddressed. Left behind in the scramble to get out of town were 20 judicial nominees awaiting final votes, all but one of whom were approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously or with only token opposition. Efforts to have votes before the recess on these noncontroversial nominees were largely stymied by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and the unyielding Republican practice of intransigent obstruction.

The sad fact is that there are 111 federal district and circuit court judgeships currently or soon-to-be vacant – that’s one out of seven seats. Astonishingly, those are actually more vacancies than existed at the beginning of this session of Congress, a situation that’s epitomized by the fact that the Republican leadership allowed votes on only 10 nominees to lifetime seats in the last 12 weeks.

Addressing the federal budget deficit is hard, but fixing the federal judge deficit is not. The crisis can be ameliorated by simply giving every nominee sent to the floor a timely vote. The ongoing failure to do so is threatening to send justice itself into default.

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More information on the current judicial nomination crisis can be found here: http://www.afj.org/judicial-selection/

Nan Aron’s commentary about this issue in Huffington Post can be found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nan-aron/federal-judge-deficit_b_915130.html

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Alliance for Justice is a national association of more than 100 organizations, representing a broad array of groups committed to progressive values and the creation of an equitable, just, and free society. AFJ works to ensure that the federal judiciary advances core constitutional values, preserves human rights and unfettered access to the courts, and adheres to the even-handed administration of justice for all Americans. It is the leading expert on the legal framework for nonprofit advocacy efforts, providing definitive information, resources, and technical assistance that encourages organizations and their funding partners to fully exercise their right to be active participants in the democratic process. AFJ is based in Washington, D.C. Additional information can be found at www.afj.org.

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