Posted on May 2, 2023
Dueling narratives at the Senate hearing on the Supreme Court
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https://www.npr.org/2023/05/02/ [login to see] /dueling-narratives-at-the-senate-hearing-on-the-supreme-court
At Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, the Democrats' avowed purpose was to get the Supreme Court to write a code of conduct for itself, or in the absence of that, for Congress to write one. The Republicans avowed purpose was quite different.
The impetus for the hearing was the fact that in recent weeks and months, there have been a series of news reports about Supreme Court ethics. One category has alleged outright violations of financial disclosure rules that apply to all federal judges, including Supreme Court justices. The other category of story has focused on the activities of various justices: activities that range from the completely appropriate--like four of the conservative justices teaching at George Mason University-- to activities that are arguably inappropriate under the judicial code of conduct.
At Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, the Democrats' avowed purpose was to get the Supreme Court to write a code of conduct for itself, or in the absence of that, for Congress to write one. The Republicans avowed purpose was quite different.
The impetus for the hearing was the fact that in recent weeks and months, there have been a series of news reports about Supreme Court ethics. One category has alleged outright violations of financial disclosure rules that apply to all federal judges, including Supreme Court justices. The other category of story has focused on the activities of various justices: activities that range from the completely appropriate--like four of the conservative justices teaching at George Mason University-- to activities that are arguably inappropriate under the judicial code of conduct.
Dueling narratives at the Senate hearing on the Supreme Court
Posted from npr.org
Ethics
Supreme Court
United States Senate
Conservative
Liberal
Posted 12 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Some, like Michael Mukasey, a former federal judge who served briefly as attorney general in the George W. Bush administration, basically said Congress is powerless to act, but others disagreed. University of Virginia law professor Amanda Frost, who specializes in constitutional law and judicial ethics, distinguished between Congress' power to write laws for the administration and operation of the Supreme Court, including a code of ethics, and its lack of power to interfere in the court's judicial decision-making.
Frost repeatedly invoked the views of the Founders in legislating on this subject.
"For over 230 years, and for as long as the Supreme Court has existed, Congress has regulated vital aspects of its operation, including its ethical obligations," she said.
Jeremy Fogel, a former federal judge who served as chairman of the financial disclosure committee of the U.S. Judicial Conference was quietly emphatic about the need for the court itself to have some internal mechanism for checking ethical obligations.
Under the current system, he said, ethical questions are "kind of a black box."
The justices "have a lot of sources and rules that they follow," he said, "but no one really knows what they are."
..."Some, like Michael Mukasey, a former federal judge who served briefly as attorney general in the George W. Bush administration, basically said Congress is powerless to act, but others disagreed. University of Virginia law professor Amanda Frost, who specializes in constitutional law and judicial ethics, distinguished between Congress' power to write laws for the administration and operation of the Supreme Court, including a code of ethics, and its lack of power to interfere in the court's judicial decision-making.
Frost repeatedly invoked the views of the Founders in legislating on this subject.
"For over 230 years, and for as long as the Supreme Court has existed, Congress has regulated vital aspects of its operation, including its ethical obligations," she said.
Jeremy Fogel, a former federal judge who served as chairman of the financial disclosure committee of the U.S. Judicial Conference was quietly emphatic about the need for the court itself to have some internal mechanism for checking ethical obligations.
Under the current system, he said, ethical questions are "kind of a black box."
The justices "have a lot of sources and rules that they follow," he said, "but no one really knows what they are."
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