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Amy Coney Barrett’s Call for a SCOTUS Ethics Code Comes With an Exasperating Rider (slate.com)

submitted 1 year ago by spaceghoti@lemmy.one to c/politics@lemmy.world

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Justice Amy Coney Barrett recently became the second member of the Supreme Court, joining Justice Elena Kagan, to explicitly support the adoption of a SCOTUS ethics code. It would be a “good idea” to adopt a code, she told an audience on Monday at the University of Minnesota Law School, “particularly so that we can communicate to the public exactly what it is that we are doing in a clearer way than perhaps we have been able to do so far.” That was admirable candor, not least because it must have ruffled some feathers among the likely holdouts on the court.

But then Barrett continued with an assurance that there is “unanimity among all nine justices that we should and do hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards possible.” Who was she kidding? Perhaps she had to concede something like that as a matter of politesse, but anyone who has been paying attention knows that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have not been holding themselves to the “highest ethical standards possible.” At best, they have grudgingly adhered to the bare-minimum legal requirements of their job, while flouting anything resembling the highest possible standards. Alito has even bragged of his belief that no institution can hold the justices accountable.

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[-] ChicagoTransplant@midwest.social 66 points 1 year ago

History has shown that allowing any body to regulate its own conduct with no oversight will not end well. Alito seems to think that because they're a separate branch, they're immune to any kind of regulation.

[-] AlternatePersonMan@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago

Also, any body that can give itself money at the cost of ethics will do so. See Congress and their stock portfolios, police and civil forfeiture, executives and mortgaging the future of their companies, etc.

[-] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

"As I, and my colleague Justices, are charged with defining what is lawful, we cannot therefore be bound by it. I'm bound by no one and above all law, ethics, and morality as I am its arbiter. As a Supreme Court Justice, I'm pretty much an untouchable god, you see. As an example, in the years ahead I will use the powers I grant myself to seek out the author of this fictitious quote and bring to bear the full power of an unbridled Supreme Court with newly defined libel laws against the author." - Supreme Court Justice Alito probably

[-] TWeaK@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

Well, isn't regulation of the judiciary the responsibility of Congress? Don't think they'll be getting anything out of them any time soon.

[-] SinningStromgald@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago

The highest ethical standards must be pretty lowly based on what we know the justices have been getting up to.

[-] Brunbrun6766@lemmy.world -3 points 1 year ago

Why am I not surprised that Amy is a pearl necklace fan

this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2023

112 points (96.7% liked)

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