Enough is enough - we need to stop blatant disregard exhibited by US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges.
On November 14 of this year Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas spoke at a $200-a-plate black-tie fundraising dinner at the Federalist Society Thursday night
.. that he feels “obligated” to state his sometimes unorthodox views of the law, even if they go against precedent.
“If you look like a fool, so what?” he said, adding that his respect for precedent is “not going to keep me from going to the Constitution.” His remarks won a standing ovation from the more than 1,300 attendees at the society’s annual dinner at D.C.’s Omni Shoreham Hotel.
Canon 4C of the
Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges prohibits federal judges from using the prestige of their judicial office to fundraise. Specifically,
“a judge may not be a speaker, a guest of honor, or featured on the program” of a fundraising event.
The code applies to federal judges but not to Supreme Court justices.
This is not the first time Justice Thomas flagrantly violates norms of judicial conduct and spirit of the Constitution exhibiting strong bias and support for his conservative believes. His wife, Virginia Thomas, often lobby on conservative matters that end up before the Supreme Court. Virginia Thomas ties include organizations linked to billionaire activists the Koch brothers, who have funneled millions into anti-reproductive health and justice causes in addition to groups like the Federalist Society. As pointed out many times and detailed in
New Yorker article Justice Thomas trying to overlook his family connections and does not recuse himself because of the conflict of interest from making decision on important cases, most recently on Obamacare.
In January, he was compelled to amend several years of the financial-disclosure forms that Supreme Court Justices must file each year. The document requires the Justices to disclose the source of all income earned by their spouses, and Thomas had failed to note that his wife, Virginia, who is known as Ginni, worked as a representative for a Michigan college and at the Heritage Foundation.
Once again caught red handed Justice Thomas is still exhibiting contempt to the ethical norms and rules of the Supreme Court, as he was from the moment of his nomination when Anita Hill accused him of sexual harassment. However, enough is enough - Justice Thomas disregard for law and judicial conduct must not only be exposed but punished as well.
Please, sign the petition to the US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts asking to hold Justice Thomas accountable for his ethical violations. More than 185,000 people already signed of 200,000 signatures required. Please, stand with all of us who believe that judges must uphold the Constitution and be impartial and unbiased.