Washington Merry-Go-Round

IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 23, 2023
WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND
Today’s Events in Historical Perspective
America’s Longest-Running Column Founded 1932
Caesar’s wife
By Douglas Cohn and Eleanor Clift         
 
          WASHINGTON — “A judge, like Caesar’s wife, must be above suspicion.” – Supreme Court of India, 2022
          It is an application of an ancient proverb applicable to courts worldwide, and these words should be etched in stone at the U.S. Supreme Court, where, sadly, the current court falls far short of this noble expectation.
          The country’s confidence in the Supreme Court is at its lowest ebb in 50 years, with nearly two thirds of Americans saying they have little or no confidence in the Court due to ideologies, political biases, and ethical lapses.
          The Court’s history is replete with these ups and downs, the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision being a case in point for declaring that people of African descent “are not included, and were not intended to be included, under the word ‘citizens’ in the Constitution.” This ideologically driven decision ignored precedent and the public’s will as did last year’s ruling that overturned the 1977 Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision.
          In the realm of politically biased decisions, the 5-4 Bush v. Gore decision of 2000 stands out. It overruled the Florida Supreme Court and halted a recount of presidential ballots even though 61,000 votes had been missed by the tabulating machines. It was the first time in American history that the Court decided a presidential race, and it initiated the Court’s current downhill slide.
          Today, ethical lapses have taken center stage with a string of revelations that have little to do with left or right partisan issues, and everything to do with a body of judges that doesn’t abide by the limits they impose on everybody else. It’s the difference between right and wrong, which any six-year-old can grasp, and if the justices can’t figure this out by themselves, it’s time for Chief Justice John Roberts to do so. He turned down an invitation to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee and he continues to resist what he sees as congressional interference with a separate and equal branch of government. Except for Congress’s right to impeach and remove individual justices, Roberts is correct. However, all branches of government are answerable to the public.
          And Samuel Alito is the latest justice to stand before the court of public opinion. He has been exposed for accepting lavish travel and failing to disclose it. He took the unusual step of writing an op-ed defending his $100,000 plane ride to Alaska to go fishing, claiming such socializing was exempt from oversight.
          He noted that the seat on the charter jet provided by billionaire hedge fund owner Paul Singer would otherwise have been empty, and that if he had flown commercial, taxpayers would have been billed for any security needed.          No judge on a lower court could get away with these excuses, or Alito’s claim that his free lodging was rudimentary when the rooms go for $1,000 a night.
          As for his sponsor, Paul Singer, he says he hardly knew him and wasn’t aware he had business before the Court. Alito wrote in his op-ed that the Alaska trip was “the only occasion when I have accepted transportation for a purely social trip,” as though that were explanation enough.
          He challenged Pro Publica’s findings, claiming the story is misleading, and that, “It was and is my judgment that these facts would not cause a reasonable and unbiased person to doubt my ability to decide the matters in question impartially.” Alito later joined a 7 to 1 majority that handed Singer a big win in a business dispute and would not recuse himself in subsequent cases where Singer’s business interests were at stake.
          Alito should be called to task not only for what he did but also for a defense that no “reasonable and unbiased person [or judge]” would ever accept.
          Earlier this year, the reporting team at Pro Publica also brought forward a series of allegations about Justice Clarence Thomas and his relationship with Dallas billionaire Harlan Crow. Thomas is in the process of updating his disclosure forms to acknowledge expensive travel and vacations Crow provided for him and his wife.
          Crow also paid private school tuition for a grandnephew whom Thomas was raising, and he bought and remodeled the house where Thomas’ mother is living in Georgia.
          If the Caesar’s wife proverb set the standard for public servants, America is being woefully misserved its Supreme Court justices.
          Eleanor Clift’s latest book Selecting a President, and Douglas Cohn’s latest books The President’s First Year: The Only School for Presidents Is the Presidency and World War 4: Nine Scenarios (endorsed by seven flag officers).
          Twitter:  @douglas_cohn
          © 2023 U.S. News Syndicate, Inc.
          Distributed by U.S. News Syndicate, Inc.
END WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND