Let me remind you that the conservatives on the court decided some years ago that they shouldn’t be subject to the same judicial code of conduct and ethics that the rest of the federal judiciary has to follow:
Justice Antonin Scalia was taking a free vacation at the exclusive Cibolo Creek Ranch in West Texas when he was found dead inside a guest room Saturday. The trip, the Washington Post reports, was a gift from the ranch’s owner, who just last year obtained a favorable result from the Supreme Court.
The 30,000-acre hunting ranch, located around 30 miles from the Mexican border in the West Texas town of Shafter, is also the home of owner John B. Poindexter, who owns the Houston-based manufacturing firm J.B. Poindexter & Co.
The two men already had a tenuous connection outside of the ranch. Last year, an age discrimination suit filed against the Mic Group, a subsidiaryof J.B. Poindexter & Co., reached the Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.
In an email to the Post, Poindexter said Scalia, who was invited to the ranch as a personal guest, was not charged for his stay. A person “familiar with the ranch’s operations” tells the paper Poindexter typically hosts these free events two to three times a year.
Earlier this month John Roberts warned against the politicization of the Supreme Court and said its standing would be damaged if the public comes to see the justices as political figures.
A recent Gallup poll found that 50% of Americans disapproved of the Supreme Court. In 2000 only 29% disapproved of the court.
Clearly the Republicans in congress didn’t understand what Robert’s was talking about. Or else they just don’t give a damn.
John Roberts doesn’t give a damn. I’d love to see some more in-depth reporting of gifts that other justices have received, and other cases where they didn’t recuse themselves. Per the rules of the court, the justices decide for themselves whether to recuse or not.
But you gotta love the fact that fat Nino bought the farm at this place. Only thing better would have been a mistress sharing the room. Let’s hope Kennedy Ailto and Thomas choke on their freebies in the next ten months., or otherwise expire in delicto.
For those who’d like to claim that there was no ethics violation since the court declined to hear the Poindexter case, bullshit. For federal employees, it’s an ethical breach to give even the appearance of conflict of interest. Like the dual sets of laws in the US, I guess potential ethics violations also applies only to us little people, non-1% that is.