WASHINGTON, D.C. — Common Cause urged the nation’s top jurist today to ensure that justices of the Supreme Court are meeting the same ethical standards imposed on other members of the federal judiciary.

Continuing efforts to highlight concerns about partisan political activities and conflict of interest questions involving several justices, the nonpartisan government watchdog asked Chief Justice John Roberts to resolve apparent conflicts in recent statements from the Court about the application of the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges on its members.

“The Court has sent confusing, apparently conflicting signals recently on its commitment to holding its members to the highest ethical standards,” said Bob Edgar, president and CEO of the nonpartisan government watchdog group. “We think the justices should pledge themselves to live by the same rules that apply to lower court judges and publicize their efforts to enforce those rules.”

In a letter to Roberts, Edgar noted that Justices Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer told a House subcommittee last month that the Court has agreed voluntarily to be bound by the Code and its Canons of Ethics. [1]

But after Common Cause sought copies of a resolution Kennedy testified that the Court had adopted on the subject, a court official sent the subcommittee a letter advising that the Court considers the Code “principally advisory in nature, even for lower court judges.”

Edgar noted that the Code, adopted and distributed to all federal judges by the Judicial Conference of the United States, says it is to be applied to “circuit judges, district judges, Court of International Trade judges, Court of Federal Claims judges, bankruptcy judges, and magistrate judges.” There is no mention of the Supreme Court and no suggestion that the Code is only advisory.

“The adoption and enforcement of high ethical standards is critically important to public confidence in the administration of justice,” Edgar said. That confidence has been undermined of late by the actions of several justices.”

The letter called Roberts’ attention to several justices’ participation in fundraising events and apparent political activity banned by the Code:

Justice Samuel Alito attended annual fundraising galas for the American Spectator magazine in 2008 and 2010. Tickets for the events sold for $250 to $25,000.[2]

Justice Clarence Thomas was the headline speaker at the Manhattan Institute’s Wriston Lecture in October, 2008. This event reportedly required a minimum $5,000 donation to the Manhattan Institute.[3] Justice Alito headlined the same event in 2010.[4]

Richter Alito war im April 2009 Headliner der Spendenaktion des Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), die den Titel „Jährliches Abendessen für die westliche Zivilisation“ trug. Bei dieser Veranstaltung kamen Berichten zufolge 1470.000 TP1T für das ISI zusammen.[5]

Richter Scalia und Richter Thomas waren „präsent“ bei Strategie- und Spendentreffen, die die Industriellen David und Charles Koch im Januar 2007 bzw. Januar 2008 organisierten. Diese Veranstaltungen sind hochpolitisch und werden von einer Elitegruppe republikanischer Spender und Amtsträger, konservativer Politiker und Finanz- und Industriekapitäne besucht. Während die Teilnehmerlisten, Tagesordnungen und andere Details dieser Veranstaltungen streng geheim gehalten werden, ist bekannt, dass die Koch-Brüder diese Veranstaltungen nutzen, um Geld für ihre weitreichenden politischen Aktivitäten zu sammeln. Bei der Koch-Veranstaltung im Januar 2011 in Rancho Mirage, Kalifornien, wurden Berichten zufolge 1449 Millionen TP250 Millionen gesammelt, die im Wahlzyklus 2012 verwendet werden sollen.[6]

Common Cause ist eine überparteiliche Basisorganisation, die sich für die Wiederherstellung der Grundwerte der amerikanischen Demokratie, die Neugestaltung einer offenen, ehrlichen und rechenschaftspflichtigen Regierung einsetzt, die im öffentlichen Interesse arbeitet und den einfachen Menschen die Möglichkeit gibt, ihre Stimme zu erheben.

[1] http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Detail&HearingId=41&Month=4&Year=2011

[2] http://thinkprogress.org/2010/11/10/sam-alito-republican-fundraiser/

[3] http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/449638/alito,_thomas_headlined_political_fundraisers_chaired_by_leading_right-wing_donor_paul_singer/

[4] http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/wriston.htm

[5] http://www.isi.org/spotlight/wstn_civ_dinner/2009/content/dwc_2009_program.pdf

[6] http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=CB5926D0-C9D5-4AB0-A06D-DA2CEB824DF0