The recent news about Clarence Thomas’ financial entanglements with GOP megadonor Harlan Crow should be alarming to every American. This is what happens when the highest court in the land is given free rein to police itself. Clarence Thomas isn’t the first justice to engage in unethical behavior. And if Congress continues to ignore the need for a Supreme Court code of ethics, he won’t be the last.
Of the nine justices currently on the bench, four have been called out for unethical behavior and connections in the last year. Neil Gorsuch sold property to the head of a law firm with cases in front of the Supreme Court. Samuel Alito dined with anti-abortion activists and allegedly leaked decisions on reproductive health. John Roberts’ wife has earned millions of dollars from law firms with business before the Supreme Court.
Congress has a constitutional duty to act as a check on the Supreme Court and restore faith in our judicial system. It’s time they act and pass a Supreme Court code of ethics.
Fred Sharp
Los Osos
This article appears in Summer Guide 2023.
Do you really want to put the court under the control of the political branches? It wasn’t that long ago that the court was the only thing protecting things like the rights of the criminally accused, free speech, etc. from the popular will. You are not always going to control the political branches, and may miss having a body which stands up for law and principle.