The wife of #SCOTUSJusticeSamuel #Alito told a WaPo reporter in Jan 2021 that an #UpsideDown American #flag recently flown on their flagpole was “an international signal of distress” & indicated that it had been raised in response to a neighborhood dispute. #MarthaAnnAlito made the comments when the reporter went to the couple’s FairfaxCounty, VA, home to follow up on a tip about the flag….
“To me, the #flag issue is much simpler. The fact is that, regardless of its legality, displaying the flag in that way, at that time, shouldn’t have happened. To put it bluntly, any #judge w/reasonable #ethical instincts would have realized immediately that flying the flag then & in that way was improper. And dumb.”
“The same goes for the flying of an #AppealToHeaven flag at Justice #Alito’s vacation house along the NJ shore. Like the #UpsideDown flag, this #flag is viewed by a great many people as a banner of allegiance on #partisan issues that are or could be before #SCOTUS.
“‘But that left open the question: If Miers is a classy, top-of-the-line #conservative, then why was Sen Charles Schumer, D-NY, beaming in contentment at his press conference Mon when he proclaimed that in nominating her, Bush had rebuffed “the very #extreme wing of his party”?’
“Democrats didn't belittle Bush for choosing an unqualified #SCOTUS nominee; Democrats were relieved that Miers wasn't #Alito.”
The photos, each taken independently, are from 4 different dates. It is not clear whether the #flag was displayed continuously during those months or how long it was flown overall.
Justice #Alito declined to respond to questions about the beach house flag, including what it was intended to convey & how it comported w/his obligations as a justice. #SCOTUS also declined to respond.
During the period the #AppealToHeaven flag was seen flying at the justice’s NJ house, a key #Jan6 case arrived at #SCOTUS, challenging whether those who stormed the Capitol could be prosecuted for #obstruction.
In coming wks, the justices will rule on that case, which could scuttle some of the charges against #Trump, as well as on whether he is #immune from prosecution for actions he took while president.
#Republican members of #Congress & state ofcls have displayed the #flag as well, among them #DougMastriano, a PA state senator & a leader of the “Stop the Steal” campaign. The highest-ranking elected ofcl known to show the flag is Rep #MikeJohnson, who hung it at his office last fall shortly after becoming #speaker of the #House.
After the 2020 presidential #election, as some #Trump supporters falsely claimed that President #Biden had stolen the office, many of them displayed a startling symbol outside their homes, on their cars & online: an upside-down #AmericanFlag.
One of the homes flying an inverted flag during that time was the residence of #SupremeCourt Justice Samuel A #Alito Jr, in Alexandria, VA, acc/to photographs & interviews w/neighbors.
The upside-down flag was aloft on Jan 17, 2021, images showed. #Trump’s supporters, incl’g some brandishing the same symbol, had rioted at the Capitol a little over a week before. President #Biden’s inauguration was 3 days away. Alarmed neighbors snapped photographs, some…were recently obtained by The NYT. Word of the flag filtered back to the court, people who worked there said in interviews.
While the flag was up, the court was still contending w/whether to hear a #2020election case, w/Justice #Alito on the losing end of that decision. In coming wks, the justices will rule on 2 climactic cases involving the storming of the Capitol on #Jan6, incl’g whether #Trump has #immunity for his actions. Their decisions will shape how accountable he can be held for trying to overturn the last presidential election & his chances for re-election in the upcoming one.
Justice Clarence Thomas calls criticism of him ‘nastiness’ & ‘lies’
After facing harsh questions about his judicial decisions & accepting lavish gifts from a billionaire, #SCOTUS Justice #ClarenceThomas forcefully pushed back on
his critics Fri — saying he & his wife, #GinniThomas, have endured “nastiness” & “lies.”
#ClarenceThomas targeted the maelstrom he has faced …since news broke last year of travel & real estate deals paid for by #Republican donor #HarlanCrow, & since he has faced calls to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election because of his wife’s involvement w/efforts to block Joe #Biden’s victory.
“What you are going to find, especially in Washington, is that people are going to pride themselves on being awful … It’s a hideous place.”
#GagOrder Against #Trump Is Expanded to Stop Attacks on Judge’s Family
Donald Trump had in recent days targeted the daughter of Juan #Merchan, the judge overseeing his #criminal trial in Manhattan, in blistering social media posts.
DA #AlvinBragg's office immediately responded tearing into #Trump's filing asking for Justice #Merchan's recusal, calling it a "daisy chain of innuendos" about the judge's daughter.
As said above, NY's #JudicialEthics board rejected the arg of a conflict last yr, “A relative's independent political activities do not provide a reasonable basis to question the judge's impartiality," the cmte found.
#SCOTUS justices & federal #judges can no longer avoid disclosing the value of travel-related #gifts they receive by classifying such free trips as "reimbursements" on their #FinancialDisclosure forms under new regulations now in effect.
The regs, announced by the #FederalJudiciary late on Fri, follow revelations that #conservative SCOTUS Justice #ClarenceThomas had not disclosed luxury trips paid for by a wealthy benefactor.
The #FederalJudiciary last year adopted other changes to its disclosure rules to clarify that judges must disclose stays at commercial properties, like hotels & resorts, & gifts of hospitality paid for by an entity or third-party other than the person providing it.
The Supreme Court's per curiam opinion pushes Trump's agenda despite the rules of judicial ethics and its limited jurisdiction.
*Thomas join an opinion that grants his wife a right to enjoy a federal office.
*The opinion is a purely advisory opinion on the role of Congress because it's not needed for the result. It's not binding on lower courts. It'll be interesting to see how much attention lower courts give this attempt to legislate. #Law#SupremeCourt#JudicialEthics#FederalCourts
Despite the unanimity of the justices, I disagree with the Supreme Court’s judgment that states may not enforce section 3 of the 14th A. That judgment is the bottom line. But far more dangerous is the majority opinion, which includes discussion that goes beyond this bottom line. Five justices have tried to prospectively prescribe two requirements irrelevant to the Colorado case. First, they claim that only Congress, not the judiciary or executive branch may enforce section 3. 1/ #LawFedi
The majority opinion also disregards rule of law by virtue of the participation in the case by Clarence Thomas, whose wife played an active role supporting the effort to overturn the lawful election results in 2020, and by the participation of justices who owe their appointments to Trump, the beneficiary of the majority’s position. 6/ #JudicialEthics
Before law school, Crystal Clanton lived for a year with Clarence and Ginni Thomas. Whatever else is off about Clanton (and there is evidence of more), that connection makes it unethical for C. Thomas to have hired her as a Supreme Court clerk. That is a position of public trust and just the appearance of awarding the post on the basis of a personal relationship is ethically inappropriate. Reporting on the situation: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/clarence-thomas-hires-clerk-crystal-clanton#LawFedi#JudicialEthics
The more I think about this, the more I think that it shows how thoroughly unethical #ClarenceThomas is, precisely because hiring a clerk with whom he has a prior personal relationship is, for Thomas, a comparatively minor ethical wrong. But it shows how pervasively corrupt he is. His moral sense can never be trusted. This makes him unfit to be a judge let alone a Supreme Court Justice.#LawFedi#JudicialEthics
The current Supreme Court has just granted cert in Anderson v. Griswold, a case from which at least two Justices should recuse themselves. Neither Clarence Thomas nor Amy Coney Barrett can participate with propriety. Barrett is even more compromised than Thomas when it comes to Trump. 1/ #LawFedi#AndersonvGriswold
We cannot have confidence in Barrett’s independence and impartiality when it comes to Trump. She compromised herself by accepting nomination to the Court from a President who made it clear he expected the Court to keep him in power. 4/4 #LawFedi#JudicialEthics#Recusal#andersonVgriswold#AmyConeyBarrett
by Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott & Alex Mierjeski @ProPublica
#Thomas has attended at least two #Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a #political network that has brought multiple #cases before the #SupremeCourt.
13 #Republican lawmakers, including #MikePence & #MarshaBlackburn, who now sits on the #Senate#Judiciary Cmte, went further, calling on Ginsburg to #recuse herself from any future cases related to #abortion. The justice brushed off the criticism: “I think & thought & still think it’s a lovely thing,” she said of the lecture series. (#RBG died in 2020.)
“…we’re seeing…someone who is living his professional life in a way that’s seeing… #extrajudicial opportunities as a #perk of the office,” said Charles Geyh, #JudicialEthics expert at IU law. Judges have social lives…& there are no clear lines for when a social gathering could pose a problem. But the confluence of #powerful#political actors & #undisclosed#gifts puts #Thomas’ trips far outside norm for judges’ #conduct, Geyh said: “There’s a culture of impartiality that’s really at risk here.”