As we move into 2023 and focus on the goals ahead, we encourage you to reflect on the significant progress we achieved in 2022. Read AFJ’s End of Year Report for 2022 to learn more about the AFJ’s work and the phenomenal nominations and confirmations of last year, including Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.
Last week, the Supreme Court issued an investigative report that revealed it did not determine who leaked the Dobbs opinion overturning Roe v. Wade last year. Check out this op-ed written by AFJ’s Kimberly Humphrey, Legal Director, Federal Courts that discusses how this recently released report demonstrates what we already know: this Supreme Court thinks it is above the very rule of law it was created to protect. Although the justices were interviewed during the investigation, they, unlike all other interviewees, did not have to sign an affidavit. This report serves as a stark reminder that there is no code of ethics that is binding on the Supreme Court justices like there is for all other federal judges.
“This huge gap in the investigation speaks to how invincible the justices see themselves. They wanted to know who the leak was—so long as they weren’t treated as suspects themselves. They are used to their power being truly supreme—with no accountability to anyone—and if the investigation pointed the finger at one of them, it would severely undermine that perception.”
Until we reform the Supreme Court, marginalized communities watching their hard-won civil rights be overturned and denied by the Court will continue to pay the price.
