Justice Clarence Thomas might be asked to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the coming weeks. Politico reported on Monday that Democrats are planning a hearing on the Supreme Court’s ethical standards, few of which Thomas hasn’t reportedly blown past over his time on the court.
But Thomas’s testimony, incredibly, isn’t a certainty. Despite numerous ethical lapses ranging from not recusing himself from suits involving his wife, GOP activist Ginni Thomas, to the current scandal regarding his relationship with his billionaire benefactor, Harlan Crow, there is no mechanism for restraining Thomas’ behavior that anyone in power is willing to use. Instead, he and his fellow justices, with the tacit approval of their fellow elites, for all intents and purposes sit above the laws that they adjudicate.
There is no mechanism for restraining Thomas’ behavior that anyone in power is willing to use.
For every level of potential accountability, there’s some excuse stonewalling actual consequences for Thomas. Inside the court itself, Chief Justice John Roberts sits as first among equals, but the mostly administrative role gives him little formal authority to dole out punishment to the junior members. Despite urging from Democratic lawmakers “to safeguard public faith in the judiciary,” there’s little evidence that Roberts will roil the status quo and exert any sort of substantive authority over Thomas.
That stands in contrast to lower court judges, who are subject to the Code of Conduct for United States Judges. Those rules are drawn up by the Judicial Conference, the policymaking arm of the federal courts, which is made up of the “chief judge of each judicial circuit, the Chief Judge of the Court of International Trade, and a district judge from each regional judicial circuit,” with Roberts serving as the presiding officer. For example, the conference recently updated its guidelines on what counts as “personal hospitality” that’s…
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