Legal experts say its time for the Supreme Court’s ethics code to grow some teeth
Legal experts are lamenting the lack of an enforceable judicial ethics code, with some calling for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s recusal, following a New York Times report that a symbol of the “Stop the Steal” movement to reject the 2020 election was flown outside Alito’s home in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Ten leading legal experts told Salon Friday that the conduct — the flying of an upside-down flag, a known symbol of the movement to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, at a justice’s home — appears to violate the Supreme Court’s own ethics code, adopted last last year, by creating an appearance of bias.
Those experts said it’s far past time for the nine justices who enjoy lifetime appointments to hold themselves to the highest ethical standards. But, they noted, the Supreme Court has shown itself reluctant to do so.
“The situation is out of control,” Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush who worked with Justice Alito on his 2006 Senate confirmation, told Salon. “This is after the insurrection, so it’s really him weighing in, getting involved publicly in a dispute over the insurrection.”
Well, I can’t do an arrest. Can you do an arrest? I’m guessing you can neither arrest nor prosecute. If you can, by all means. I look forward to hearing about it. But I don’t expect to. I expect that that is not a solution that will be employed. John Oliver tried an extrajudicial offer to Clarence Thomas, and he doesn’t seem to have accepted that. So there don’t appear to be any remedies within the system, adjacent to the system, or near the system. And somehow, I also doubt I’ll hear about you throwing his tea into the harbor.
Who bells the cat?
If my name was Joe Biden and I controlled the federal government, yeah, I could do all that…
Trump’s openly talking about doing that for the wrong reasons, just charging anyone who doesn’t like him and throwing them in jail.
There are valid reasons here:
Sedetion and acts against the federal government. Hell, I’m sure we can throw some conspiracy charges in there, maybe some racketeering?
Did you know we have this place called Gitmo where we don’t even have to give people trials for this shit?
I was actually there before, the iguanas are cool, but it’s incredibly depressing. The people stationed there get turnt up when another ship comes in tho, everybody that could had taken the day off and were waiting at the bar just to see some new faces.
But there’s a lot of people imprisoned there that have done far less to damage America than Alito.
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
So you can’t do it, I can’t do it, nobody we know can do it. Maybe write Joe a letter or something?
I mean, if nationwide protests don’t work, I wouldn’t get my hopes up for a letter.
But it won’t hurt, so go for it.
Citizen’s arrests are a thing. Not sure how they work though
I think there has to be an actual crime, directly witnessed.