ABC EXCLUSIVE: Supreme Ethics Problem? (Scalia/Access Selling?)

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Investigation/story?id=1534260

Jan. 23, 2006 — At the historic swearing-in of John Roberts as the 17th chief justice of the United States last September, every member of the Supreme Court, except Antonin Scalia, was in attendance. ABC News has learned that Scalia had instead spent his afternoon on the tennis court at one of the country's top resorts, the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Bachelor Gulch, Colo., during a trip to a legal seminar sponsored by the Federalist Society.

Not only did Scalia's absence appear to be a snub of the new chief justice, but according to some legal ethics experts, it also raised questions about the propriety of what critics call judicial junkets.

"It's unfortunate of course that what kept him from the swearing in was an activity that is itself of dubious ethical propriety," said Stephen Gillers, a New York University law professor, who is a recognized scholar on legal ethics.

<snip>

Justice Scalia spent three days at the luxury resort lecturing at the legal seminar where ABC News also found him on the tennis court, heading out for a fly-fishing expedition, and socializing with members of the Federalist Society, the conservative activist group that paid for the expenses of his trip.

<snip>

According to the event's invitation, obtained by ABC News, the Federalist Society promised members who attended the seminar an exclusive and "rare opportunity to spend time, both socially and intellectually" with Scalia.

<snip>

One night at the resort, Justice Scalia attended a cocktail reception, sponsored in part by the same lobbying and law firm where convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff once worked.

...more...

unbelievable is that someone would actually pay to have "social" contact with Scalia. It's like some Roman orgy of influence peddling and ass kissing.

An examination of the Supreme Court disclosure forms by ABC News found that five of the justices have accepted tens of thousand of dollars in country club memberships. And Justice Clarence Thomas has received tens of thousands of dollars in valuable gifts, including an $800 leather jacket from NASCAR, a $1,200 set of tires, a vacation trip by private jet, and a rare Bible valued at $19,000.

"The rules dealing with gifts don't apply to Justice Thomas because the rules only apply to lower court judges," Gillers explained. "People give gifts to judges and justices because they have power. And they have power because of their position that they hold in trust. And to suggest that it doesn't matter, no one will care, seems to me to be whistling in the dark."

Just as Alito should be fiibustered for his.

I think I just lost my breakfast.

:puke:

ok I photoshopped it, but what the hay?

I love this line when Thomas More confronts his former clerk who is now a minor office holder with some small amount of power and money.

"Why Richard. It profits a man nothing to lose his immortal soul for the whole world --- but for Wales".

How much is their dignity and self respect worth - really?

with prospective defendants in legal cases that might require SC attention?

:sarcasm:

I doubt that the democrats will ever have a majority again -- but if by some twist of fate the people wake up and throw the bastards out (one must be delusional to believe we live in a real democracy anyway)-- then we can impeach the SC bastards like Scat-lia.

Scalia can be impeached and SHOULD be impeached along with the rest of these thugs. He violated the Constitution in 2000 when he ordered that the vote count in Florida be stopped before the SCOTUS heard the case.

Constitutionally, the State of Florida had the power to handle the electors from their state and the House of Representatives had the power to accept or reject; Scalia overruled the Florida Supreme Court on behalf of George W. Bush and usurped the function of the Congress and should be removed from his seat on the court.

the first thing he did was to try to get liberal justices on the SC impeached. John Dean wrote a book about in 2001 or 2002. It is a great read. I bought the CD and listened to on the road.

Where does it end? We need to blast this to the media big-time. CULTURE OF CORRUPTION!

culture of corruption.

unfortunately, with the selling out of every branch of our government. The Congress has been bought and sold, the Presidency has been bought and sold and now the Judiciary has been bought and sold. As I've often said, there are no countries anymore, just Corporations and special interests hiding behind flags.

We the people....... how "quaint". I remember when that used to mean something. It means nothing now because the people no longer control the government. Special interests control the government and the government in turn controls, not serves the people.

This country will not survive much longer. We used to pride ourselves as being a beacon of freedom and truth. Now, we're the neighborhood bully and so corrupt we make the mafia look like Campfire Girls. No great civilization in history has long survived past the point when they decided themselves to be omnipotent, turning their backs on the very principles that propelled them to greatness in the first place. Our country has reached that point.

What the future holds for the United States and the rest of the world cannot be known, but if history can be used as a guide for the future I see a very bleak scenario.

In the words of the immortal Walt Kelly........

in a duck hunt just before making a ruling regarding his ties to the energy industry? FILIBUSTER!!!!!

:mad:
rocknation

was seeking! Republican Corruption here, there and everywhere!

When is the next 10 ton shipment of popcorn due? I think we didn't order enough! :popcorn:

The guy has "issues" not to be believed.

Homophobic bigot with a God complex and a really short fuse. JUST what this country needs.

:rofl: :rofl: That's perfect!

That's one childhood I'd never want to live.

and always has been!

Every dog has it's day. Read my tag line.

Its disgusting but Scalia didn't get Chief Justice ...

Judiciary vote??

Just asking...

Once we have a Democrat president, can they impeach all of the corrupt right wing judges?

appoint Priscilla Owens or worse. SG

Only Congress can Impeach. If you believe the Den of Thieves is going to throw out one of their main Honchos think again...And that Democrat President :rofl: :rofl: Democrats are so afraid their own involvement in unethical behavior will become known they just lay down and whine....

I can't say enough about this so I'll be brief.

ABC News--nice "management" MSM source.

The charge -- influence peddling.

How -- through Federalist Society paid "vacations."

The predicate for other's to be charged -- uh, fellow Democrats, all the Supremes of the right ilk do this with The Federalist Society.

They're being set up to go in one feld swoop. I'm betting Franklins on this one. It's too strange. This information has been around forever. The Federalists have been sponsoring vacations forever for these clowns. NOW it's hot.

"Oh lard, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz"

I won't but the Federalists will, if you vote right.

on KGO. THIS MUST REMAIN IN THE PUBLIC EYE. The right-wing SCOTUS justices are obviously dirty denizens of the same Augean stables of graft & corruption as the rest of the BFEE. My God! What other horrors are looming? SG

i can only hope he is too bold for his own good.

here's hoping.

he should know that GREED is one of the seven deadly sins.

is that he's not a follower of Christ.

He claims that he is, but he's not.

ever bother to read The New Testament? Or are they so in love with the judgment and blood lust of the Old Testament that they can't get their heads around Jesus' teachings?

and ignorant to anything other than self.

of the Roman Catholic heirarchy suffer from the same traits. That's what happens to Pauline Christians. All that power goes straight to their heads and their dicks.

As always, Scalia will just confess those deadly old sins to the good priest and everything will be just fine. Until the next greed attack occurs, which hopefully won't precipitate a heart attack before Antonin can make it to the next regularly scheduled Saturday afternoon confession. However, if the latter sequence of events goes awry, then the fallen justice will have to spend eternity in conservative hell with the likes of Strom Thurmond, Roy Kohn, Lee Atwater, J. Edgar Hoover, and Lester Maddox, to name but a few.

I have no idea why that stikes me as so funny... but it certainly describes that arrogant crook perfectly...

Bold in our faces daring all comers (but not all that bright when it comes to committing crimes and hiding the evidence apparently!)

And you almost have to respect the guy for it...almost.

and not recusing himself much more an egregious violation of ethics.

occupation. This incident a akin to a heart surgeon walking out of a transplant operation to free up time on his schedule so he go out and party with the boys. How far along the unsound reasoning of the people in the government can go has not yet to been seen but it looks like we are getting close to finding out.

I like the chances that these fools will keep it up. Hubris can be a very good thing when you have a large set of incoherent's to deal with.

Justice Scalia, now go vote against abortion and for an imperial president. Good boy Scalia, good boy. Here's your reward, now jump...

of the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, you also happens to be his new boss, in order to go to an all expenses paid party with his buddies?

Oh someone has his priorities a little mixed up. In the real world, you would get fired for this sort of thing.

Roberts' swearing in ceremony. I'm sure that he was more than happy to not be there given the fact that he wasn't given the position of Chief Justice. Maybe this was a favor to him to give him an excuse to not go.

Trouble in BushWorld? Back-stabbing? Blackmail? Extortion? Who's poisoning whom? Why would a war profiteering corporate news monopoly follow up this story, and blackhole so many others--really, the entire Bush junta and all its works?

Stay tuned.

Yes, we can impeach them. We can also add progressive judges to balance them out (the number 9 is not fixed in the Constitution), and/or amend the Constitution to shorten their terms, make them electable, or otherwise curtail them. We can even prosecute and convict them, and put them in jail. And we can revoke their appointments, due to Bush's criminality and treason (a novel approach--but why should we accept the appointments of an illegitimate, treasonous president?). We are the sovereign people of the United States. We can engage in revolutionary action without firing a shot. That was the whole idea. But restoring a real Supreme Court will be possible only after WE RESTORE OUR RIGHT TO VOTE, the mechanism by which we exercise our sovereignty. Currently, rightwingnut corporations control our election system with "trade secret," proprietary programming code in the new electronic voting systems that Tom Delay arranged for, with the $4 billion H.A.V.A. ("Help America Not Vote Act") boondoggle, billions that poured right into the pockets of Bush's buds at Diebold and ES&S. This money, and Diebold's and ES&S's lavish lobbying, corrupted our election system (on a bipartisan basis). We first have to get back public control of our election system--something that is still doable. (The power over election systems still resides at the state/local level, where ordinary people have some influence. Transparent elections are a no-brainer. There is simply no justification for secret source code and unverifiable vote counts.)

Throw Diebold and ES&S election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW! Then we'll deal with this criminally appointed court.

He knows he can thumb his nose at those (Dems of course) who object to his unethical behavior and has no fear of any negative consequences.

The article states that there are ethics rules for lower federal judges, but no "explicit" rule for the Supremes. I guess that's why Scalia felt comfortable ruling in Gore/Bush even though he had family members involved. I guess that's why he is also comfortable going duck hunting with Cheney while matters involving Cheney were before the court. I guess if no one tells Clarence Thomas "explicitly" that it is wrong to accept leather jackets and tires and $19,000 Bibles, then it must be ok. Are they incapable of extrapolating that, at minimum, codes of ethics that apply to those in similar but lower positions than the ones they hold would also apply to them in their superior positions of authority? Should they not be held to even higher standards as befits their elevated positions? It's only the Supreme F!@#$ing Court of the United States for Cripes sakes! Mr. "Vanguard" Alito should feel right at home.

And it is clearly corrupt. The justices are supposed to avoid the appearance of impropriety, which damages the reputation and credibility of the court.

Impeachment is the only remedy.

honor and accountability is restored.

made some money, friends, and allies.

Game, set, match... Scalia is up several games to zero for US Citizens.

for Chief Justice - I think you and Peace Patriot in the post above - have the right slant on this.

I wonder if Steve Jobs taking over ABC/Disney relates in any way?

http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/aboutus/mte.html
http://www.business-standard.com/iceworld/storypage_link.php?chklogin=N&autono=212883&lselect=4&leftnm=lmnu9&leftindx=9
"Jobs feuded publicly with Iger's predecessor, Michael Eisner ..."

Of COURSE he was pissed not to be named Chief Justice, especially since some near-neophyte (in terms of length of judicial experience) was named to that post. Besides, he's shown and said many times that he can do whatever he wants. So why not go and make a bunch of money from adoring fans instead of watching Roberts get sworn in for the job he wanted?

I do think Scalia is truly insane, a megalomaniac. Utterly corrupt and (here's the insane part) convinced that whatever he says and does is right and lawful. It's similar to the strange religious beliefs of the extreme RW fundies, who say and do things opposite from what their presumed teacher - Jesus - taught, yet are utterly certain that only they are going to be "saved."

presidency.

Another Federalist Society alumnus...

Play tennis instead of going to his swearing-in.

Not only was what he was doing unethical, but his failure to show at a swearing-in of ANY justice is TACKY TACKY TACKY.

I hope Roberts puts tacks on his chair!

What a HUGE baby! :nopity:

reasons for removal. Article II states "all civil officers" shall be removed on "impeachment for, and on conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors," same as pres and VP.

Article III states, "The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior..."

How about during BAD behavior? IMPEACH the SOB justices of the SC! Their behavior is BAD and it appears they have accepted bribes.

Roberts makes $212,100 per year. The other justices receive $203,000 per year. (Roberts, BTW, has asked Congress to revisit the judicial pay scale because he feels it is inadequate.)

Go ahead and compare that amount to the average wage of a person living your state.

But I guess the generosity of the taxpayers isn't enough. The justices must now appeal to the lobbyists and think-tanks for special privileges. Unbelievable. Place a sign out front of the building, John Boy. The Supreme Court is for sale.

Here's a Scalia quote from "American Dynasty" by Kevin Phillips

(p. 107)
Part of Scalia's objection to democracy, amplified a year later, was that it got in the way of a return to an eighteenth-century interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Speaking at the January 2002 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, he opined that as written in 1787 the Constitution reflected natural or divinely inspired law that the state was an instrument of God. "That consensus has been upset," he said, "by the emergence of democracy." He added that "the reactions of people of faith to this tendency of democracy to obscure the divine authority behind government should not be resignation to it but resolution to combat it as effectively as possible."
(end)

These folks really do not believe in democracy. Look at the memes that we are a republic, not a democracy or that democracy is mob rule. There is a kernel of truth in these slogans, but that is all. As our judges and representatives traipse off to 4-star resorts and lavish dinners, it's worth noting that simply replacing the public mob with a private one does not end corruption.

and sabotage the machinery of democracy.

just makes me shake my head and then become outraged...

There is no honor, no sense of decency, among these RW crooks, no matter what position they might hold...

it's all about the power and the money...

period...

Surely they didn't sell out for lousy club memberships and old books.

Let's see the what they got in 2000.

what I have found is that unless there's a specific election issue in front of the court, it pretty much falls on deaf ears. For some reason we have a national myth that the Supreme Court is above the kind of treasonous corruption that we routinely acknowledge the other branches of government often fall into. As a result, no one ever seriously talks about removing a sitting supreme court justice.

But that's what we have to start considering.

Our generation, and the next generation cannot live through this coup of our constitutional government.

They are spitting in the face of everything we have believed we stood for for 200 years. It cannot stand.

the taint of partisan politics misses the reality of the situation.

and thank them for showing this. These days it takes balls for any network to criticize anything in this administration. Here is a link to their contact page. I'm sure that they will get negative posts so lets all let them know we appreciate it.

http://abcnews.go.com/Reference/story?id=54216

I watched the show last night and was so pissed after it was over that I wasn't sleepy anymore. They showed a clip of Thomas in a leather NASCAR jacket (an $800 gift) starting the race.

I am just sickened that every part of our country seems to be up for sale.

I wonder what Roberts thinks of the snub?

Fuck him, long and hard.

but the SCOTUS is open to lobbyists? Wouldn't one expect that this court should be devoid of lobbying activities? Why would the Federalist Society give Scalia a junket and shower him with trips and gifts if not to influence his decisions? This digusts me beyond belief.

...I agree... He and Thomas should be impeached...

I've heard about the existence of a conservative gene. Perhaps these people just can't help themeselves. Heretofore I figured that inherent conservative tendencies were exhibited by extreme self-centeredness, an inability to engage in critical thinking, or both. But being flat out crooked (and hypocritical to boot) seems to be the key component of this tragic birth defect.

and now all branches are corrupt as hell.

Do you think that this news story will blow up for ABC like the Rather-Mapes story did?