Judicial Crisis, Senate Action Letter

Full Letter | Judicial Disaster

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Expensive Chief Schumer and Chair Durbin,

We write to specific our grave concern relating to the revelations and allegations surrounding particular curiosity judicial affect, corruption, lack of moral requirements, and obvious lawbreaking by justices on the Supreme Courtroom. These revelations have extreme and far-reaching penalties on the integrity and independence of our judiciary, in addition to the very material of our democracy. Whereas we applaud the steps you may have already taken to convey public consideration and accountability to this case, we write as we speak to induce a daring escalation from the Senate in confronting this pressing and unprecedented risk to People’ freedoms and prosperity.

The American folks depend on the Supreme Courtroom and decrease federal courts to make neutral selections primarily based on the regulation and Structure, free from exterior influences and biases. Latest reporting, nonetheless, has raised severe questions concerning the moral and authorized conduct of some justices. These revelations embody conflicts of curiosity, inappropriate monetary ties, hid acceptance of presents and journey in violation of federal regulation, and systemic failures of accountability throughout the judicial department that undermine the credibility and legitimacy of the Courtroom.

Late final yr, ProPublica reported that the flurry of extravagant, billionaire-funded presents, loans, and spousal compensation accepted and hid by Clarence Thomas got here after he toldRepublican politicians that he may resign his seat on the Courtroom if his monetary state of affairs didn’t enhance, elevating the specter of quid professional quo corruption. ProPublica’s latest reporting has additionally uncovered how, for many years, the Judicial Convention, which is overseen by the Chief Justice, “has spent many years preserving perks, defending judges and thwarting outdoors oversight,” and has“protected, not policed, the judiciary.” It additionally seems that Thomas has did not recuse himself from the case in regards to the January 6 rebellion and Trump’s “Cease the Steal” scheme, which instantly implicates his spouse, Ginni Thomas. It is a clear violation of federal regulation, 28 U.S.C. 455, which requires recusal every time a justice’s “impartiality might moderately be questioned.”

These disturbing revelations come simply because the Courtroom—filled with Federalist Society judicial extremists throughout the Trump period—undertakes an unprecedented assault on the rights andfreedoms of on a regular basis People whereas delivering rulings that reliably favor the pursuits of the rich and highly effective. The Trump Courtroom majority’s unprincipled, agenda-driven rulings havealready eviscerated a girl’s elementary proper to decide on, undermined our authorities’s skill to defend in opposition to escalating local weather threats, unleashed a scourge of gun violence in ourcommunities, and considerably eroded People’ voting rights. By all appearances, this devastation will proceed this time period—one by which the Courtroom is once more poised to play a decisiverole in deciding a presidential election.

Within the face of well-predicated Senate oversight by Chair Durbin, Senator Whitehouse, and Chair Wyden, the compromised justices and their darkish cash backers have stonewalled Congress, preposterously arguing that the separation of powers prevents Congress from conducting oversight into or passing legal guidelines affecting the Supreme Courtroom. Justice Alito has gone additional nonetheless, arguing that “no provision within the Structure provides [Congress] the authority to manage the Supreme Courtroom—interval.” Now that the Senate Judiciary Committee has licensed subpoenas in opposition to Federalist Society courtroom fixer Leonard Leo and GOP megadonor Harlan Crow—a brave step we wholeheartedly commend—these targets have promised defiance and continued obstruction.

This represents a placing and unacceptable affront to Congress’s authority—one which flies within the face of Supreme Courtroom precedent and constitutional norms, and one People reject. In keeping with different latest surveys, latest polling from Hart Analysis reveals that absolutely 78% of voters say it is vitally or pretty necessary for Congress to take motion to boost the Supreme Courtroom’s moral requirements, together with 50% saying it is vitally necessary. This sentiment crosses partisan strains – together with 65% of Republicans and 63% of conservatives – and is embraced by not less than three-fourths of voters in each area of the nation. Greater than three in 4 voters favor every of those congressional actions:

Establishing a binding code of ethics for the Supreme Courtroom;
Requiring justices to reveal any presents, journey, or outdoors revenue they obtain;
Impeaching justices when there’s ample proof of moral violations;
Conducting an investigation into allegations of moral violations by justices.

We’re in a judicial disaster and have to act prefer it. The time is now for the Senate to grab this unprecedented alternative to ship actual accountability and verify judicial corruption and abuse of energy. We urge the Senate to take instant and daring motion alongside two strategic lanes:

Launch a Full-Scale Investigation: Initially, the Senate Judiciary Committee ought to promptly challenge the subpoenas it licensed and pursue their enforcement, together with by means of legal contempt referrals if obligatory. Additional, Senate committees ought to set up a strategically coordinated set of hearings and investigative steps to shine a public mild and inform its legislative agenda. These investigative actions and hearings, held in a sequenced and coordinated approach throughout related committees of jurisdiction, would examine and uncover the complete extent of corrupt influences on the Courtroom, the impact that corruption has on the work of the Courtroom, and its more and more devastating affect on the lives of on a regular basis People.A rogue and unaccountable Supreme Courtroom that’s beholden solely to billionaires prevents Congress from doing its work on behalf of the American folks and subverts our democracy. The American individuals are looking for solutions from trusted messengers and their representatives in Congress. Very like the Home January 6 committee helped People perceive and internalize the risk to democracy posed by Trump’s rebellion, strategic Senate oversight into the special-interest corruption of the Supreme Courtroom would educate the general public, form public narratives, and attain a broad and numerous voter base that won’t but absolutely admire the extent to which their lives are being harmed by the Supreme Courtroom’s relentless abuse of energy. Constructing from the robust basis laid by the Democratic Coverage and Communications Committee’s Captured Courts experiences, the Senate ought to talk their work to confront judicial corruption with the seriousness and devoted effort they might for any nomination battle or the passage of significant laws. We all know how to do that—coordinated messaging and fast response efforts to verify the general public understands what’s at stake, why it issues, and the all-hands-on-deck work Senators are doing to place an finish to corruption and shield our freedoms.
Advance a Complete Anti-corruption Invoice as a Down Fee: The Structure provides Congress expansive authority to construction and regulate the federal courts, and Congress has used that energy all through U.S. historical past in any variety of methods. A Supreme Courtroom anti-corruption and accountability invoice is a crucial legislative start line, as a result of the corruption is uncontrolled, the general public is demanding motion, and Senators have already recognized robust and efficient legislative measures. That is simply step one in a protracted record of legislative actions and structural reforms that Congress should take to guard our freedoms and restore democracy.

As Chief Schumer just lately put it in a letter to colleagues: “Congress has clear authority to supervise the federal judiciary, and we should discover each possibility for restoring religion in our courts.” We couldn’t agree extra.

Sincerely,Accountable.USAction Collectively NEPAAdvance CarolinaAlliance for JusticeAmerican Federation of TeachersAmerican Humanist AssociationAsian American Girls’s Political InitiativeAvondale ACTion: An Indivisible GroupBend the Arc: Jewish ActionBlack Voters Matter FundBlue FutureCenter for Widespread GroundCenter for Freethought EqualityCenter for Media and DemocracyCenter for In style DemocracyChop Wooden, Carry Water Every day ActionsClearinghouse on Girls’s IssuesClimate Hawks VoteCommon CauseCourage CaliforniaCourt Accountability ActionDC VoteDemCast USADemocratic Messaging Challenge

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