1y ago

“Out of control”: Legal experts call for recusal, reform over Stop the Steal symbol at Alito home

www.salon.com

Legal experts say its time for the Supreme Court's ethics code to grow some teeth

Legal experts are lamenting the lack of an enforceable judicial ethics code, with some calling for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's recusal, following a New York Times report that a symbol of the “Stop the Steal” movement to reject the 2020 election was flown outside Alito’s home in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Ten leading legal experts told Salon Friday that the conduct — the flying of an upside-down flag, a known symbol of the movement to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, at a justice's home — appears to violate the Supreme Court's own ethics code, adopted last last year, by creating an appearance of bias.

Those experts said it’s far past time for the nine justices who enjoy lifetime appointments to hold themselves to the highest ethical standards. But, they noted, the Supreme Court has shown itself reluctant to do so.

"The situation is out of control," Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush who worked with Justice Alito on his 2006 Senate confirmation, told Salon. "This is after the insurrection, so it's really him weighing in, getting involved publicly in a dispute over the insurrection."

103 comments

Every judge appointed by the orange sandwich is illegitimate and needs to be removed
- Unfortunately, that’s extremely unlikely. The last Supreme Court Justice to be impeached was Samuel Chase in 1805. He was acquitted and continued to serve until his death.
  They remain seated until they choose to step down or die. The average Justice serves for 16 years, but have served for as long as 34 years. Trump fucked a generation in one term.
  
  Can't Biden just expand it?
  
  It's like they don't realize that having non-violent ways of affecting change are important because otherwise people will turn to violent ways after a certain point.
  
  Copy/paste response. You do a lot of that with your comments. Like there is a set list of comments you respond from.
- Same goes for the other ones to be nominated by a president who lost the vote for president (Alito and Roberts), and the other likely sex offender whose victim(s) never got a fair hearing or investigation, Clarence Brown.
  
  Clarence Brown.
  Clarence Thomas, as in uncle Tom.
  
  I…what? Do you mean lost the popular vote?
- I’m as anti Trump as anyone, but I have some bad news for you - he was legitimately voted into office as the President and his appointments are therefore legitimate.
  What McConnell did in blocking Obama’s appointment should be criminal. That BS needs to change.
  
  he was legitimately voted into office as the President
  ...by the electoral college. Remember, he lost the popular vote.
Thomas AND Alito are unquestionably in Donald Von Shitzinpantz's diaper.
- Putin's diaper*
  
  It's all the same diaper
  
  Matryoshka diaper
Alito's response: "Ha ha, fuck you. I do what I want."
You can call for America's Mullahs to do things, but they won't do them because they don't have to.
In the olden days, if you didn't have a term limit and you were needed to step down from your post you were assassinated.
- Dude literally every single dark web hit man is always the FBI or police....always. If you need a hit man do it like Florida man... Craig's list!
What a coward. The country can go fuck itself, so just own up to it you pussy. But no no, he's all "my wife did it." So not only can we go fuck ourselves, we're also rock stupid.
There's pretty much zero oversight for a supreme court justice, right? I'm kinda surprised he didn't just lynch a few brown and/or gay people in his front yard because doing so would have equal consequence - none.
- In theory he can be impeached.
  In practice, he can't be impeached.
- While I get what you mean, they aren't immune to prosecution for acts outside of their role. He would hopefully still get arrested and charged for lynching people. (Hopefully)
  
  Tried, convicted, appealed all the way up to his own court, conviction overturned.
  
  Oh please... Lol
  
  In practice they are immune.
- With the current state of American politics I would expect the following to happen:
  He lynches someone
  He gets convicted
  He brings a case claiming that a SCOTUS justice has criminal immunity for official acts, and that the lynching was clearly an official act
  The case escalates up to SCOTUS
  Him and his buddies rule in his favor and he walks free
- Oh ,don't worry.
  We asked them if they need oversight. And every single SC judge said there's no reason any of them need oversight.
  Which is apparently enough to convince moderates Dems that we don't need to do anything
  
  The bill went along party lines out of committee, 11 Democrats in favor 10 Republicans against.
  https://www.reuters.com/world/us/senate-panel-set-vote-us-supreme-court-ethics-reform-2023-07-20/
  Dead due on arrival though, due to unanimous republican opposition in both the senate and house (controlled by Republicans). Even if you wanted to argue for Democrats overturning the filibuster or something, it still wouldn't solve the issue of the house. Anyways the point is, republicans are far more of a problem for judicial reform than your "moderate dems."
  
  Wouldn't that have to be an act of Congress, which is not controlled by the "moderates Dems"
  
  Oh this guy again. Yeah, it’s all the Democrats’ fault. Every time, for everything.
lol “creating an appearance of bias.”
the government has a dress code, but no ethics code.
fascinating.
- This is a silly take. SCOTUS members have specific protection in the Constitution that needs to be dealt with. They have to be impeached. There's no other legal remedy. Republicans are a cult and have broken the government, just as the funding fathers feared.
  
  a silly but rather accurate statement, though somewhat goofy.
- And the dress code is pageboy for CEOs
I'm a Law and Order Republican and I'm CONFUSED as to why people are so CONCERNED that the HIGHEST COURT IN THE LAND is Corrupt. WHO CARES?!
- Needs moar caps to be truly conservative.
So based on how things have gone so far with the fascist in chief, we can expect no consequences at all, or that he will die of old age before any such consequences can be agreed upon. Sound about right?
- Literally impossible right now. It'd take a 2/3ds senate majority to remove him.
  
  So pretty much as predicted. 😬
  
  I hate that attitude...
  When the English told wealthy American smugglers that they'd have to pay the taxes they should have always been paying, did this wealthy Americans say "there's nothing we can do?"
  Nope.
  The paid people to dress up as Native Americans, threw some tea into a harbor, and created their own country.
  When they said we were a democracy, but only wealthy white males could vote, did women and other races just accept it because that was the rule?
  No, they fought for decades to be included.
  So when I see another American throw their fucking hands up and say we can't try to fix a problem because the problem is legal....
  Where did you learn that shit?
  This is motherfucking America where the only rule that can never be changed is "might makes right".
  Conservatives 100% operate under that rule and nothing else. If they can get away with something, they can do it.
  You think if they needed to they wouldn't throw a SC in jail and sit someone else in that chair?
  If we want to fix the country we need to stop being the only ones caring about the rule book and checking it before we do anything.
  Arrest Alito's ass for sedetion and acts against the US government.
Disbar the bitch
- What would that do? You don't even need a law degree to be a judge.
  
  Yes you do need a law degree to be a judge. Unless you live way up in appalacchia
- Who are you talking to? Nobody has the power to do that
  
  Congres and house do. Too bad the votes aren't there
  
  Who are you talking to? Nobody has the power to do that
  How embarrassing for you. If he is a member of a Bar association, he can be disbarred.
Yeah, like people in this country would listen to experts. That's basically admitting you don't know everything already.
You know we don't have to wait for the country to fall apart violently. There no shame in just calling it quits and everyone apply for sanctuary at their country of choice all at once.
- Nah, no need to leave this land and its resources to the most evil.
- For anyone who is seriously considering this you need to look into the term "expat" if you didn't know the word
- Lol, fix your shit back home instead of moving elsewhere and fucking things up there as well, you guys live in the richest and most armed country in the world, you don't have the excuse of not having resources at your disposition. I'll welcome refugees with open arms if they come from a third world country, but from the USA? Fuck no.
  
  Would you have said the same thing to people fleeing Germany before the Holocaust?
Conservatism should be a disqualifier for holding positions of authority. Conservatives are immoral and there is no place in a modern civilization for anything they stand for.
Trump has so many pawns in place like this guy and this cultists followers. This is terrible but they won't do anything about it.
Haha, liberals are scared that the façade of a "just" American legal system is going up in flames.

103 comments