I don't think I'll ever get over Clarence Thomas ruling on cases related to Jan 6 knowing that his wife was an active participant in the attempted coup.
Or ruling on cases related to govt regulations and a wealth tax knowing he took gifts from billionaires.
It's a disgrace.
Agreed @rbreich! The fact that the SCOTUS is a partisan group of jurors is the bigger disgrace.
What can we do about it?
Maybe:
1. Change the way judges are selected, perhaps allowing a neutral body like the ABA (ok, so perhaps not completely impartial) to nominate. .
2. Confirmation by whom? More than just the Senate,?
3. Limit their terms to 16 (or other) years.
4. Allow appellate courts to initiate impeachment of judges.
5. Of course: have strict ethical rules for SCOTUS
Sure, the 60 vote requirement is useful but not enough: it doesn't solve the issue when the senate gets packed with one party.
We need a 3rd party of qualified individuals like the ABA to determine if a potential judge is a) Qualified , b) impartial c) has no ethical conflicts (like association to some partisan society). This is the very minimum.
Robert Reich
sorta_mallorca