Sheldon Whitehouse @SenWhitehouse
THREAD
@RepHankJohnson and I just sent our reply to SCOTUS in light of new reporting by @nytimes
https://nytimes.com/2022/11/19/us/supreme-court-leak-abortion-roe-wade.html
Here’s what else to know about ethics at the Court. 1/10
There is an ethics crisis @ SCOTUS: failures to recuse (despite clear conflicts); swarms of dark-money amici curiae (including some who spent $ on confirmations); inappropriate political activities by justices (comments/meetings); yet no evident process to address ethics concerns
This latest secret judicial lobbying campaign, spanning decades, seems to have culminated in advance knowledge about Alito’s Hobby Lobby decision (the Dobbs draft was also an Alito decision). What’s being done within the Court? Mystery.
SCERT Act requires judges to explain recusal decisions, puts in place independent third-party review to test how well the Court is following rules, and requires recusal standard for justices’ connections to amici curiae (major avenue for lobbying the Court).