A new message from your friends at People For the American Way.
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Dear People For
supporter,

President Biden's historic first Supreme Court nomination could be
announced any day now – but we're still faced with the urgent need for a
binding code of ethics to cover ALL the Supreme Court justices.

Earlier this month, Justice Neil Gorsuch was the keynote speaker at a
Florida conference of the Federalist Society – and that speech was the
only part of the event that was closed to the press,^[ [link removed] ] leaving the
American public in the dark about what one-ninth of the Supreme Court had
to say to a far-right political organization that helped install him on
the Court in the first place.

[1]Please sign our petition today asking Congress to pass the Supreme
Court Ethics Act and implement a binding code of ethics for our nation's
highest court.

[ [link removed] ]SIGN THE PETITION →

Thanks!

– The People For Digital Team

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Dear People For supporter,

As we wait for President Biden’s historic first Supreme Court nomination,
we need to fix a glaring loophole in the rules under which the court
operates: the nine justices on the Supreme Court are the ONLY U.S. judges
not covered by a binding ethical code of conduct.

It’s a not-infrequent situation where a federal judge has some type of
personal or financial conflicting interest in a case that’s been brought
before them. The ethics codes that govern the U.S. judicial system will
typically require those judges to recuse themselves from the case in order
to preserve impartiality. Not so for the Supreme Court. The ethics rules
that apply to the rest of the federal judges do not apply to justices of
the Supreme Court, who make their own decisions about whether they should
recuse themselves from any case.

Troubling examples that have come to light recently give us ample reason
to doubt the impartiality and fairness of a court without those ethical
guidelines in place.

[ [link removed] ]Click here to ask Congress to support the Supreme Court Ethics Act to
develop a binding code of ethical conduct for Supreme Court Justices. >>

For example, Ginni Thomas – the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence
Thomas – signed on to a letter in December from conservative leaders
blasting the work of the House Select Committee investigating the events
of January 6th. Just weeks later, Justice Thomas failed to recuse himself
from a case in which the former president was trying to shield White House
records from the committee ... and then was the sole vote in support of
Trump’s request. ^[2]

In another case decided last year, Justice Amy Coney Barrett – whose
confirmation was supported by a “seven-figure” ad-buying campaign from
Americans for Prosperity – failed to recuse herself from a case in which
that organization’s linked foundation appeared before the Court,
attempting to shield its donor records from the state of California.
Justice Barrett then voted with the majority to keep those records hidden,
in a decision that Justice Sotomayor warned would open the gates for more
anonymous money to flow into political donations.^[3]

In response to this ethical crisis, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and
Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA) have introduced the Supreme Court
Ethics Act, which would require the U.S. Judicial Conference to develop an
ethical code of conduct that would apply to the Supreme Court.

[ [link removed] ]Tell Congress: the Supreme Court MUST be held to common-sense ethical
standards in order to restore faith in the integrity and impartiality of
our nation’s highest court. >>

Numerous recent cases decided along partisan lines – as well as the
longstanding, dark-money-fueled efforts from groups like the Federalist
Society to tilt our judicial system and produce rulings favoring corporate
and right-wing interests – have given Americans ample reasons to doubt the
integrity of the Supreme Court. Passage of the Supreme Court Ethics Act
would be a big step in the right direction to reverse this trend and hold
the justices to basic ethical standards.

Thanks in advance for taking action on this issue!

Sincerely,

Paul Gordon, People For the American Way

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[ [link removed] ]donate:

 

 

Sources:

[test version A]

1. "[ [link removed] ]Gorsuch’s Speech at Federalist Society Event Is Only One to Bar
Media," Bloomberg.com, 02/02/22

2. "[ [link removed] ]Critics say Ginni Thomas’s activism is a Supreme Court conflict.
Under court rules, only her husband can decide if that’s true.,"
Washington Post, 01/31/22

3. "[ [link removed] ]Amy Coney Barrett Rebuffs Demands To Recuse From Dark Money Case
Involving Group That Supported Her Confirmation," Forbes, 04/26/21

 

 

 


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