Clarence and Ginni Thomas could be sidelined under Supreme Court ‘model’ ethics code

An outside group of interest proposes the Supreme Court To adopt a new “model” Justice might be thrust by ethics code Clarence Thomas He and his wife GinniFurther into the political spotlight.

These guidelines would be established by so-called independent watchdogs Project on government Oversight and Lawyers Defending American Democracy. “more stringent guidelines for recusal.” The guidelines would be so rigid that, if they had been in place last year, it might have prevented Thomas, the oldest Republican-appointed justice, from being elevated to the high courts. participating According to a NPR report, this case involved the release of records from Trump’s administration to the House Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot.

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“Such a provision would clearly have forbidden Justice Clarence Thomas from participating” NPR’s Nina Totenberg was involved in the 2022 case reported Thursday.

Thomas was the only dissenter in the refusal of former President Donald Trump to block disclosure of records. These records later revealed that Thomas’s spouse had communicated with Trump White House officials and she called for them to stop certification of President Joe Biden’s win in 2020.

The 27-page “Model Code of Conduct for U.S. Supreme Court Justices,” Published March 9, mentions the term “spouse” There are 14 total times. Highlights on page 5 “certain conduct by a spouse or other close family members of a Justice would require that Justice to recuse,” According to a copy of the document reviewed by Washington Examiner.

The report does not name justices or their spouses but Ginni Tom, a prominent conservative activist attorney, might be the most significant. The code would bar justices and their closest family members from the courtroom. “exploiting the judicial position” “engaging in political” Activity that gives the appearance of partisanship

Fix the Court is a left-leaning judicial reform group. To enact term limits Justices, released a press statement backing the POGO/LDAD propositions and pointed out the fact that the current code of lower court judges doesn’t contain an explicit enforcement mechanism, nor does the proposed Supreme Court Code.

“Spouses are mentioned 12 times in the current code for the lower court judges,” Gabe Roth, Fix the Court founder told the Washington Examiner However, he also highlighted the limitations in ensuring justices and their family adhere to this code.

“Two things