Hi,

The Supreme Court Historical Society exists to “preserve the court’s history and educate the public about the court’s importance in American life.” But in reality, this "charity" collects donations from those seeking to influence the court. Donate enough money, and you can get direct access to the nine justices. No surprise that corporations like Chevron with cases pending before the court have been exploiting this access for decades.1

It is insane that this is a thing. Further proof (as if we really needed more) that the lack of a Supreme Court Code of Ethics fully undermines our democracy and the integrity of our institutions. The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act would end this egregious corruption. Congress MUST pass it.

Sign the petition: Tell Congress to pass the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act!

The Society’s nonprofit status means it doesn’t have to disclose its donors, but an investigation by the New York Times uncovered that over the last few decades “At least $6.4 million came from corporations, special interest groups, or lawyers and firms that argued cases before the court.”1 A charity so closely tied to the justices should not solicit money from corporations and other special interests nevermind ones that have matters before the court.

It’s not at all subtle either. Anti-abortion leader Rev. Rob Schenck has admitted to making the society and its events part of his campaign to influence the justices to take dogmatic positions against abortion. Considering that Schenk has recently claimed to know the outcome of a 2014 case involving contraception and religious weeks before it was announced, his relationship to Justice Alito has been legitimately scandalous.2 This relationship was obviously developed using the society. So how can this be legal?

One of the most unbelievable facts about our federal government is that there are no formal ethics rules for Supreme Court justices. There is NOTHING stopping them from owning stocks or hearing cases in which they have conflicts of interest.

Congress can fix this extremely problematic oversight by passing The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act.

Sign the petition: Tell Congress to pass the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act!

Thanks for taking action,

Miguel and the team at Demand Progress

Sources:
1. NY Times, “A Charity Tied to the Supreme Court Offers Donors Access to the Justices,” December 30, 2022.
2. NY Times, “Former Anti-Abortion Leader Alleges Another Supreme Court Breach,” November 19, 2022.


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