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☆ Supreme Court returns for first private meeting of the term amid even more controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Ariane De Vogue | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The Supreme Court returns to Washington to face a new term and the fresh reality that critics increasingly view the court as a political body. Earlier this year, Roberts declined an invitation to appear before the Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss Supreme Court ethics, citing separation of powers concerns. Even if he did believe a formal ethics code is necessary, it’s unclear whether he would need a unanimous vote to move forward. Instead, they say, critics of the court are manufacturing a controversy to delegitimize the institution and staunch the flow of conservative opinions. Last week, she told an audience in Indiana that she thought it would be a “good” idea if the court were to adapt the ethics code used by lower court justices to fit the Supreme Court.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Roe, Wade, John Roberts, Roberts, Joe Biden’s, ”, Justice Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson, “, ” Kagan, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, ” Cate Stetson, Hogan Lovells, Dick Durbin, Durbin, recuses, Carrie Severino, Alito, forthrightly, ” Alito, “ I’ve, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh Organizations: CNN, Democratic, Conservative, Cato Institute, Democrat, Judicial, Crisis Network Locations: Washington, Congress, Indiana, Lake Geneva , Wisconsin, Ohio

☆ A film, websites, and even a Twitter fan account praising Clarence Thomas were all part of a coordinated public relations campaign backed by nonprofit groups tied to a Federalist Society chairman
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But one recent PR campaign has centered on Justice Clarence Thomas, The Washington Post reported. But one more recent campaign was directed at Justice Thomas, who had already spent about three decades on the Court's bench. According to the Post, a nonprofit called the Judicial Education Project paid the lawyer about $300,000 in 2016 for "media projects." "Since his confirmation on October 15, 1991, Justice Thomas has been a stalwart defender of the original meaning of the Constitution." The comment was made years ago in a 2007 biography of Thomas, "Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas."

Persons: Leonard Leo, Clarence Thomas, Leo, Thomas, Anita Hill, Kerry Washington, Wendell Pierce, Mark Paoletta —, Paoletta, HBO's, Len Amato, —, Michael Pack, Ginni Thomas, Harlan Crow, Kentanji Brown, JCN, Leonard Leo's Organizations: Washington Post, Service, The Washington Post, Federalist Society, Post, HBO, Trump White House, Judicial, Project, Politico, Daily, Washington Examiner, Post . Records, CRC, Relations, Advisors, Judicial Crisis, New York Times, Crisis Locations: Wall, Silicon, Virginia, United States, Jackson

☆ Justice Sam Alito took a luxury fishing trip with a billionaire who supports a group that wants to block Biden's student-loan forgiveness
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

ProPublica reported that Justice Sam Alito took a luxury fishing trip with billionaire Paul Singer in 2008. Both Singer and Alito denied discussing any business interests related to SCOTUS cases on the trip. That group also filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court asking it to block Biden's relief plan — a decision the court is expected to hand down in the coming days. The spokesperson also said that Singer did not have "any pending matters before the Supreme Court, nor could Mr. Singer have anticipated in 2008 that a subsequent matter would arise that would merit Supreme Court review." "On no occasion have we discussed the activities of his businesses, and we have never talked about any case or issue before the Court," Alito wrote.

Persons: ProPublica, Sam Alito, Paul Singer, Singer, Alito, SCOTUS, —, Jr, Joe Biden's, Biden, Brown, SBPC, Paul Singer's, Miguel Cardona Organizations: Manhattan Institute, GOP, Service, Republican, Congress, Street, Protection Center, . Nebraska, US Department of Education, Network, Judicial, Democratic, Biden Locations: —, Alaska, ., Brown, Brown and Nebraska

[1/2] U.S. Supreme Court police officers stand on the front steps of the Supreme Court building prior to the official investiture ceremony for the court's newest Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and the start of the court's 2022-2023 term in Washington, U.S. September 30, 2022. The report said the Supreme Court's information security environment was "built fundamentally on trust with limited safeguards to regulate and constrain access to very sensitive information." But it called the court's information security policies "outdated" and recommended that it overhaul its platform for handling case-related documents and remedy "inadequate safeguards" for tracking who prints and copies documents. The Supreme Court's IT systems operate separately from the rest of the federal judiciary. U.S. judiciary officials have said the systems used by federal appellate and district courts also are outdated and need modernization.

“Senate Democrats have been committed to restoring balance to the federal judiciary with professionally and personally diverse judges,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told NBC News on Saturday night. Senate Republican leaders told NBC News before the election that if they took the majority, they would use their power over the floor to compel Biden to send more centrist judges that GOP senators could support. He said Democrats keeping control means that if a Supreme Court vacancy were to open up, Biden’s nominee would be assured a vote. While the current 50-member Democratic caucus has been unified behind Biden’s judicial nominees, a 51st seat for the party could further embolden it. As a practical matter, that means Democrats currently need Republican sign-off to confirm judges in red states.

☆ Billionaire Ronald Lauder gives $1 million to GOP group supporting state candidates who questioned 2020 election results
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

A representative for the Republican State Leadership Committee did not return a request for comment. The Concord Fund, which previously spent millions of dollars on ads backing Trump's judicial nominees, gave $1.5 million to the Republican State Leadership Committee in September. The Republican State Leadership Committee is considered a tax exempt politically active group under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Republican State Leadership Committee is supporting dozens of candidates running to become secretaries of state, lieutenant governors, state legislators and judges on state courts. In this year's state legislative races, the Republican State Leadership Committee has bolstered some candidates who raised doubts about the 2020 election results.

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