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.
And once you know that simple fact, dozens and dozens of recent news stories start to make a little more sense.
Justice Alito attended the American Spectator's annual fundraiser gala in 2010 and headlined the event in 2008. The American Spectator runs the "Conservative Action Project," a lobbying group dedicated to opposing President Obama's public policy agenda.
Justices Scalia and Thomas reportedly have each attended at least one invitation-only retreat hosted by billionaire conservative activists Charles and David Koch. In fact, the 2011 Koch Industries retreat invitation – which attempts to woo would-be participants by making note of the past attendance of Justices Thomas and Scalia – explicitly stated that the retreat's purpose was planning how to "change the balance of power in Congress."
Justice Alito also headlined a fundraiser for the conservative Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), which works for "limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, the rule of law, market economy, and moral norms."
Justice Thomas has reportedly engaged in fundraising activity by helping to procure financing for the restoration of a seafood cannery in Pin Point, Georgia, where Clarence Thomas's mother once worked. According to the New York Times, Justice Thomas put the owner of the cannery in touch with his friend, Harlan Crow, Texas-based real estate developer and financier of conservative causes. Crow has since invested approximately $3 million on the project, including a museum with a tribute to Justice Thomas.
When Americans see stories like those, we think, "That can’t be right. Aren't there rules against that kind of thing? How can they get away with that?"
The answer is simple: There are rules against these things, but the rules apply to the hundreds of other judges in the federal judiciary, not to the nine who are called upon to be the Constitution’s last line of defense.
In AFJ's new documentary film, "A Question of Integrity: Politics, Ethics, and the Supreme Court," we take a look at the questionable behavior of some justices, and ask leading ethics experts why the issue matters.
When justices lend the prestige of their office to partisan political causes, or fraternize and fundraise with those who have an ideological or financial stake in Supreme Court decisions, Americans lose faith in the ability of our courts to act as fair and impartial arbiters.
That's why it's critically important that the Code of Conduct be applied to the Supreme Court, and it wouldn't be hard to do. In fact, the Court could adopt the code voluntarily.
Supreme Court decisions face the greatest public scrutiny, have the broadest impact, are frequently divisive, and can turn on the vote of a single justice. There is simply no room for the kind of behavior that would cause everyday Americans to wonder whether Supreme Court decisions are based in facts and law... or politics and special interests.