The following Letter to the Editor was published in The Daily Sun on Sept 23, 2023.
We should be deeply concerned that, for years, two U.S. Supreme Court justices have received lavish trips, large sums of money and other gifts from people with issues that they would be ruling on. Our highest court does not have the Code of Conduct for all other U.S. judges. These judges are human beings just like the rest of the U.S. judges. They have no special ability to avoid being compromised by their interests and other ethical issues.
Given that the Supreme Court is the highest and final court of our country, it should have the highest code of ethics as opposed to no ethical code! It is crucial that we trust the court.
Congress has the authority to regulate the ethics of the U S Supreme Court. Contact your senators and representative to insist that the Supreme Court adopt an enforceable Code of Conduct that is transparent to the public. There should be strong requirements for reporting financial disclosure and gifts. We need clear recusal requirements to refrain from deciding a case with a conflict of interest.
Robert F Chapman, Englewood
Image Credits: Patrick Semansky/Associated Press
