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☆ SCOTUS justices went on cushy teaching trips to Italy, Iceland, and the UK funded by a conservative law school: NYT
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Kieran Corcoran | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

George Mason University funded a series of plush trips for Supreme Court justices in recent years. Per The Times, the law school sent justices on trips to European tourist spots as part of teaching programs. Gorsuch was asked to help pick which Italian city would host his teaching trip. The law school dean, Ken Randall, said students had their time there "undoubtedly enhanced by the justices teaching or visiting or speaking with students." Insider sought further comment from the law school and the court.

Supreme Court justices are under renewed scrutiny due to recently uncovered financial dealings. That's a question that the Romans asked over 2,000 years ago," Doron Kalir, a professor at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and an expert in legal ethics, told Insider. But parties arguing before the Supreme Court cannot challenge justices for a lack of recusal like people can in lower courts. There is an official Code of Conduct for Federal Judges, but it applies to all federal judges except the Supreme Court justices, simply because that's what the Supreme Court decided, according to Kalir. "That's what the Supreme Court decided, and they're supreme," Kalir told Insider.

☆ A law school named after the late Antonin Scalia is a haven for conservative Supreme Court justices to enjoy lavish treatment, New York Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Antonin Scalia Law School at the Virginia-based George Mason University was renamed in 2016. The renaming was part of a plan to help its reputation by getting closer to the Supreme Court. Justices were given notable benefits to teach there, emails obtained by The New York Times reveal. This desire to keep Supreme Court leadership on their roster even superseded scandals the judges faced. The Antonin Scalia Law School and a spokesperson for the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ The Hard Question of Affirmative Action and Slavery
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But the exchange highlighted a tension that’s likely to be central to the debate over affirmative action after the Supreme Court rules. Put simply, getting rid of race-based admissions policies may turn out to be harder than it sounds. Today’s newsletter is the first in what will be an occasional series on the future of affirmative action. Grit and characterThe court is expected to rule on affirmative action in June, and observers expect tight restrictions on race-based considerations in college admissions. Consider two teenagers: One grew up with working-class parents, attended a high-poverty high school and scored 1390 on the SAT.

☆ How Scalia Law School Became a Key Friend of the Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Steve Eder | Jo Becker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the fall of 2017, an administrator at George Mason University’s law school circulated a confidential memo about a prospective hire. Just months earlier, Neil M. Gorsuch, a federal appeals court judge from Colorado, had won confirmation to the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Antonin Scalia, the conservative icon for whom the school was named. For President Donald J. Trump, bringing Judge Gorsuch to Washington was the first step toward fulfilling a campaign promise to cement the high court unassailably on the right. For the leaders of the law school, bringing the new justice to teach at Scalia Law was a way to advance their own parallel ambition. By the winter of 2019, the law school faculty would include not just Justice Gorsuch but also two other members of the court, Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett M. Kavanaugh — all deployed as strategic assets in a campaign to make Scalia Law, a public school in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, a Yale or Harvard of conservative legal scholarship and influence.

☆ Politico Aims at Gorsuch and Misses
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Nicholas Tomaino | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: Senators are now trying to create an ethics code for the High Court. Images: AP Composite: Mark KellyA Senate Judiciary subcommittee didn’t get much attention when it held a hearing in May 2022 titled “An Ethical Judiciary: Transparency and Accountability for 21st Century Courts.” ScotusBlog.com reported that “the primary topic of discussion” ended up being the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion on abortion. The full committee plans to revisit the original topic Tuesday, this time cast as “Supreme Court Ethics Reform.” Press outlets have helped tee up the inquisition by presenting what Chairman Dick Durbin calls “a steady stream of revelations regarding Supreme Court Justices falling short of the ethical standards expected of other federal judges and of public servants.”

☆ Jane Roberts, who is married to Chief Justice John Roberts, made $10.3 million in commissions from elite law firms, whistleblower documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

Jane Roberts was paid more than $10 million by a host of elite law firms, a whistleblower alleges. At least one of those firms argued a case before Chief Justice Roberts after paying his wife hundreds of thousands of dollars. And I realized that even the law firms who were Jane's clients had nowhere to go. Mark Jungers, another one of Jane Roberts' former colleagues, said that Jane was smart, talented, and good at her job. But whether that committee has the authority to discipline Thomas or any other Supreme Court Justice remains a matter of murky constitutional interpretation, to be ultimately decided by the Supreme Court itself.

☆ Justice Clarence Thomas' troubles reveal a much larger accountability issue lurking in the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is facing a wave of misconduct allegations in recent weeks. The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations. What was your initial reaction to Monday's Bloomberg report regarding the 2004 appeals case that Justice Thomas failed to recuse himself from? Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The point is that the issue should not be punishing Justice Thomas or punishing Justice Gorsuch.

☆ Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill Mandating Code of Ethics for Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Lindsay Wise | Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Angus King and Lisa Murkowski say their bipartisan bill might have a greater chance of passage in a divided Congress than Democrats’ proposals. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/ZUMA Press; Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—Sens. Angus King (I., Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) introduced a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to create its own code of conduct within a year, following media reports that raise questions about whether Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch properly disclosed their financial activities. “It’s pitiful that we’re having to introduce this bill—it’s pathetic that the Supreme Court hasn’t done this itself,” Mr. King said.

☆ Senators to Introduce Bipartisan Bill Mandating Code of Ethics for Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Lindsay Wise | Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Angus King and Lisa Murkowski say their bipartisan bill might have a greater chance of passage in a divided Congress than Democrats’ proposals. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/ZUMA Press; Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—Sens. Angus King (I., Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) will introduce a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to create its own code of conduct within a year, following media reports that raise questions about whether Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch properly disclosed their financial activities. “It’s pitiful that we’re having to introduce this bill—it’s pathetic that the Supreme Court hasn’t done this itself,” Mr. King said.

☆ U.S. Senators to introduce bipartisan bill mandating code of ethics for Supreme Court - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

April 26 (Reuters) - U.S. senators Angus King and Lisa Murkowski will introduce a bipartisan bill on Wednesday requiring the U.S. Supreme Court to create its own code of conduct within a year, following media reports about whether Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch fully disclosed their financial activities, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Head of a Major Law Firm Bought Real Estate From Gorsuch
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — One month after Neil M. Gorsuch was appointed to the Supreme Court in April 2017, he and two partners finally sold a vacation property they had been trying to offload for nearly two years. But when he reported the sale the next year, he left blank a field asking the identity of the buyer. County real estate records in Colorado show that Brian L. Duffy, the chief executive of Greenberg Traurig, a sprawling law firm that frequently has business before the court, and his wife, Kari Duffy, bought the property. The buyer’s identity — and Justice Gorsuch’s decision not to disclose it — was reported earlier on Tuesday by Politico. Although experts said that the omission did not violate the law, they added that it underscored the need for ethics reforms given the intensifying scrutiny on financial entanglements at the Supreme Court and renewed calls by Democratic lawmakers for tightened rules.

☆ A property owned by Neil Gorsuch was bought by the head of a major law firm days after he was confirmed to the Supreme Court: Politico
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A property owned by Neil Gorsuch was bought by the head of a law firm days after Gorsuch joined the Supreme Court. The chief executive of Greenberg Traurig bought a home in Granby, Colorado co-owned by Gorsuch. Politico reported that Gorsuch held a 20% stake in the home. Gorsuch was confirmed to the Supreme Court on April 7, 2017. Politico reported that Gorsuch held a 20% stake in the home and, citing the Justice's federal disclosure form, reported that Gorsuch profited somewhere between $250,001 and $500,000 from the $1.825 million sale.

That is because algorithms that power generative AI tools like ChatGPT and its successor GPT-4 operate in a somewhat similar way as those that suggest videos to YouTube users, the experts added. While the case does not directly relate to generative AI, Justice Neil Gorsuch noted that AI tools that generate "poetry" and "polemics" likely would not enjoy such legal protections. Section 230 protections generally apply to third-party content from users of a technology platform and not to information a company helped to develop. 'CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR OWN ACTIONS'Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, who helped draft that law while in the House of Representatives, said the liability shield should not apply to generative AI tools because such tools "create content." They said tools like ChatGPT operate like search engines, directing users to existing content in response to a query.

☆ Texas lawmaker says the Supreme Court cleared the way to force schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Texas' Senate passed a bill that would requires public schools to display the Ten Commandments. The Senator who authored the bill thinks the Supreme Court paved the way for his bill to pass. The Supreme Court last year sided with a football coach who lost his job after praying on the field. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with the Washington football coach, Joe Kennedy, in the case last year. He added that the Supreme Court cleared the way for this bill when they sided with Kennedy.

The actual malice standard creates breathing room for public debate by protecting accidental misstatements about powerful people while still allowing for liability for intentional lies. But public officials and public figures, whom we expect to tolerate sharp public criticism, must also show in a defamation case that the speaker didn’t just inadvertently misspeak, but intentionally published falsehoods. From the start of the Dominion lawsuit, Fox News had pressed an argument that would have created a form of actual malice on steroids, preventing accountability altogether. Carefully calibrated doctrines protect neutral reporting and require courts to examine whether an outlet goes beyond reporting to endorsing falsehoods. There has actually been a movement to revisit the actual malice standard but in favor of narrowing it — or even eliminating it altogether — rather than expanding it.

WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday bolstered a bid by Turkey's state-owned lender Halkbank (HALKB.IS) to avoid criminal charges in the United States for allegedly helping Iran evade American economic sanctions. The court's majority, while rejecting a key defense mounted by Halkbank, ordered the Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Shares in Vakifbank (VAKBN.IS), another Turkish state bank, jumped 9.9% and the bourse's banking index climbed more than 4%. Sovereign immunity generally protects countries from facing legal action in another country's courts. The majority found that the 2nd Circuit did not fully consider whether the bank has immunity under "common law" principles.

☆ Supreme Court says Turkey-owned Halkbank not immune from prosecution for Iran sanctions violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Halkbank, which is owned by the government of Turkey, is not immune from prosecution in New York federal court for allegedly violating U.S. economic sanctions on Iran. The indictment alleges that high-ranking Turkish and Iranian government officials participated in the sanctions evasion scheme with Halkbank and its officers. However, the Supreme Court told the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a request by Halkbank to toss out the prosecution based on an argument of common-law immunity. The Supreme Court previously recognized that a civil lawsuit not governed by the FSIA law may still be barred under by foreign sovereign immunity under so-called common law. The U.S. government has argued that the bar would not apply to criminal prosecution of a commercial entity such as Halkbank.

WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday grappled with a convicted stalker's claim that thousands of unwanted Facebook messages he sent to a female musician in Colorado were protected speech in a case testing the limits of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment safeguards. Rather, Counterman was convicted based on a showing that his messages would cause a "reasonable person" serious distress, a so-called objective legal standard. Counterman, citing mental illness and delusions, argued his statements were never intended to be threatening and were thus protected speech. The First Amendment prohibits the government from enacting laws "abridging the freedom of speech," but the U.S. Supreme Court has decided that the provision does not protect true threats. His appeal was rejected by the Colorado Court of Appeals.

☆ Supreme Court Considers Christian Mail Carrier’s Right to Refuse Sunday Shifts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Gerald Groff sued the Postal Service, alleging religious discrimination. Photo: Carolyn Kaster/Associated PressWASHINGTON—Supreme Court justices appeared to edge toward a compromise in a workplace religious-rights case Tuesday, with conservatives Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh suggesting that a 1977 precedent could be clarified but not overturned to balance the interests of employees and employers. A group of conservative advocacy groups filed the case on behalf of a part-time mail carrier who said his evangelical Christian faith prevented him from working on Sundays. The group aims to overturn the current application of federal law requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees’ religious exercise, so long as undue hardship wasn’t imposed on the business.

☆ Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas reportedly has been claiming thousands of dollars annually from a shuttered real estate firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas arrives for the swearing in ceremony of Judge Neil Gorsuch as an Associate Supreme Court Justice in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, April 10, 2017. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas reported on financial disclosure forms that his family has earned thousands of dollars in rental income from a Nebraska real estate firm that has been shuttered since 2006, according to a report by the Washington Post Sunday. Thomas has reported income from a firm called Ginger, Ltd., Partnership over the last two decades, but in 2006 it was shut down and replaced by a new firm, the report said. In recent years, Thomas reportedly continued to disclose between $50,000 and $100,000 in income from the old firm annually. ProPublica later reported that Crow bought property from Thomas as well, which the justice also failed to disclose.

☆ Dominion’s case against Fox News goes to trial next week. Is the First Amendment really on the line?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

But even by the standards of the profession, the language in Dominion's $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News has been downright apocalyptic. A victory for Dominion against Fox, they say, could wreak havoc for other journalism organizations across the country. The sheer closeness between Trump and Fox News makes a case like this unlikely to harm journalism organizations down the line, Goodale said. The vast majority of defamation cases against media organizations are settled, which gives few high-profile precedents to the Dominion lawsuit. "And that's the balance that the Sullivan court strike tried to strike in 1964.

[1/2] The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, U.S., April 6, 2023. Two laws, the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Securities Exchange Act, funnel judicial review of adverse agency orders to federal appeals courts only after those orders become final. The Supreme Court's conservative justices have signaled wariness toward expansive federal regulatory power and the previously recognized duty of judges, under Supreme Court precedent, to give deference to that authority. Federal agencies have had their powers curtailed in recent Supreme Court rulings. Axon sued the FTC in 2020 in federal court in Arizona following an investigation by the agency into its 2018 acquisition of Vievu, a rival body-camera provider.

☆ A Liberal Judicial Awakening?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Are liberals gaining new respect for the conservative judicial project to rehabilitate the separation of powers? See the amusing headline Tuesday from Vox: “Heartbreaking: The worst Supreme Court justice you know just made a great point.”The story praises a dissent by Justice Neil Gorsuch that criticizes a court-ordered prosecution of progressive martyr Steven Donziger . Readers may recall our editorials detailing how Mr. Donziger orchestrated a legal shakedown of Chevron over phony environmental crimes in Ecuador.

Donziger's lawyers argued that this appointment violated separation-of-powers principles set out in the Constitution delineating the authority of the three branches of the U.S. government. In 2011, an Ecuadorian court entered an $18 billion judgment that was later reduced to $9.5 billion against Chevron for contamination resulting from oil production. In 2014, Kaplan concluded in that case that the Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron in Ecuador was obtained fraudulently through a corrupt process, rendering it unenforceable in the United States. When Chevron suspected Donziger was violating a related ban on trying to monetize or profit from the judgment, Kaplan ordered him to turn over electronic devices and email accounts for examination. After federal prosecutors in Manhattan declined to take the case, Kaplan in an unusual move tapped a private lawyer, Rita Glavin, to lead the prosecution of Donziger.

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