Well, can you believe it? The SCOTUS finally succumbed to the great pressure from the public – and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, to establish and abide by a code of ethics. Or did they? With the way that they wrote this thing up, it is hard to determine whether the final document is a code of ethics or just a surprise grab-bag of suggestions for this not-so-Supreme Court of justices to take their minds of all of us little people continuously bugging them about this – based on the first paragraph of their proposed code of ethics, “non-issue.”
You have got to check out the opening paragraph of this baby! This document is a 15-page masterpiece that opens by trying to convince all of us, the American people, that this Supreme Court no code of ethics thing is all just a big “misunderstanding [by the American people] that the justices of this court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by ethics rules.” Wow!
But that’s not all that the SCOTUS did to cushion the impact to their ego that the public wants them to have a code of ethics just like all the other U.S. courts do. Not only do they just toss this surprise grab-bag of things that they call a code of conduct out there to cushion the impact to their egos, after all, they are the Supreme Court of the United States, but they fail to establish and articulate any means as to how this “code of conduct” will be enforced.
Once again, wow! If it appears that I am being unfair and hard on the SCOTUS, I will agree with you that I am being hard on it but I will not agree that I am being unfair. I will not go into any detail regarding why I am not being unfair other than to say that all the other courts in the United States have a code of ethics and a means of enforcing it so why shouldn’t the highest court in the land have one…and a means of enforcing it?
Indulge me while I mention briefly a few things that some of our SCOTUS justices have done that have raised eyebrows that would likely be subject to review based on the code of ethics if they happened in the lower courts. Since Justice Clarence Thomas, so far, has been found to be the greatest offender among these justices I will list his offenses first.
According to public reports, 1. GOP megadonor Harlan Crow paid Justice Thomas’ grandnephews tuition and Justice Thomas failed to disclose it. 2. Justice Thomas has received luxury trips nearly every year from a conservative Texas billionaire without disclosing them. 3. Justice Thomas repeatedly claimed income from a real estate company that no longer exists. 4. Justice Thomas received payments from conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo. 5. Justice Thomas refused to recuse from a January 6 case that related to his wife’s role in the insurrection.
As are all other SCOTUS justices – they, along with Justice Thomas are associated with the scandal involving the leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade. As regards other specific GOP Justices and scandals involving their possible misbehavior, Justice Samuel Alito is involved with scandals most of which are like those of Justice Clarence Thomas’ that involve travel and other gifts from GOP billionaires. Neil Gorsuch’s sale of a property to the head of a law firm is also among the recent scandals plaguing the SCOTUS. This list of problems that the SCOTUS currently has that effects its trustworthiness by the American people is by no means exhaustive.
This situation with the SCOTUS is exacerbated by the fact that the Republican party is now the party of Trump and is completely controlled by him. All the Republican elected officials are afraid of him so have become subservient to him. The few, like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, who were willing to stand up to him have been unceremoniously removed from representing the Republican party as elected officials even if they chose to remain a part of it. The situation with the SCOTUS is exacerbated by this because the Court has a supermajority of conservatives, three of whom Trump nominated, whom also seem to be willing to do his will.
With two branches of the American government, the judicial and legislative branches, being, at best, reluctant to stand up to Trump and, at worst, unwilling to stand up to him, that leaves only the executive branch and the American people. This means that it is imperative that all eligible voters make sure that our voices are heard.
It means that the executive branch and those few Republicans in the legislative branch who can summon the courage to do so must join with all the Democrats there and educate the American public as to Trumps exact intensions. He has stated them openly and without equivocation: He will transform America from a democracy to an Autocracy. We need all the one-issue voters, especially young people, to understand this because the American democracy is at stake; the American democracy is on the ballot!
Without elected Republican officials who are willing to stand up to Trump and do the right thing and with a SCOTUS that is either reluctant or unwilling to stand up to him, America is in a precarious dilemma. President Joe Biden is exactly who America needs right now. Americans need only to look at his accomplishments for our country even under these current dire and challenging circumstances. He has the experience and acumen that America requires at this time. He should not be shunned and cast aside because of his age or the gaffes that might be associated with it.
Americans will be able to argue about President Biden’s policies and any other issues we might have and pressure our elected officials to pressure him to make any changes after he is reelected. If Trump is elected again, this option will not be available concerning any of his policies. He will make the ultimate decisions regarding policies and the direction that America will take.
Staying at home and not voting because you do not like either presidential candidate that is available to you is not only irresponsible, but it is a vote for Trump. Be sure to vote no matter your method of choice! And always remember, whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!
Eulus Dennis – author, M2: Street Cop To Top Cop, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line