Join Common Cause Ohio and the Ohio Fair Courts Alliance on Monday, December 18 at 6pm for an in-depth forum where our esteemed panel of experts will answer questions that are now swirling about influence and ethics at the nation’s highest court. They will dissect the lack of judicial ethics, address the pressing need for meaningful reform and accountability, and provide solutions about how trust in the U.S. Supreme Court can be restored.

Panelists include: Alex Aronson, former chief counsel to US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Jennifer Ahearn—Brennan Center for Justice, Sarah Turberville—The Constitution Project, and Lisa Graves—True North Research.

Register Here

Get ready for the Scandals & SCOTUS webinar by watching a few videos:

• Dark Money and the Supreme Court  Civil rights attorney Alex Aronson explored dark money and the Supreme Court with Pete Dominick (Stand Up! With Pete, June 5, 2023).
• Supreme Court: Ready for Reform? Conversation with Brennan Center President Michael Waldman and US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse about possible reforms (Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, November 14, 2023).
• Does the U.S. Supreme Court Have Credibility? Cassandra Burke Robertson, Professor of Law and Director, Center for Professional Ethics School of Law at Case Western University and  Shih-Chun Steven Chien, Assistant Professor of Law, Cleveland State University School explore confidence in SCOTUS and reform options (Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland, October 1, 2023).

Love podcasts?  ProPublica and On the Media explore the legacy of one of the most significant figures pulling strings behind the scenes for the last 30 years, Leonard Leo. Check out the three-part series called, We Don’t Talk About Leonard (Leo). You can find the episodes here.

Take a Deep Dive 

• The Judiciary Has Policed Itself for Decades. It Doesn’t Work, ProPublica, December 13, 2023
• Clarence Thomas’ Benefactors Finally Face the Music, by David Janovsky and Sarah Turberville, Slate, December 4, 2023 
• What’s Missing from the Supreme Court’s New Ethics Code, by Jen Ahearn, Brennan Center, November 16, 2023
• US Supreme Court Code of Conduct released by the Court on November 13, 2023
• Under ethics pressure, Supreme Court announces it’s adopting code of conduct, ABC News, November 13, 2023
• Friends of the Court: SCOTUS Justices’ Beneficial Relationships With Billionaire Donors, ProPublica, August 10, 2023
• This is why it’s difficult to rein in the Supreme Court, CNN, August 10, 2023
• Model Code of Conduct for U.S. Supreme Court Justices, proposed by the Project on Government Oversight, March 9, 2023