5 ms·

I'm unfamiliar with this, can you elaborate?

chabes 4mo ago
Analysis by Fix the Court identified 546 gifts valued at over $4.7 million given to 18 current and former justices, with Justice Clarence Thomas as the primary recipient. Judicial reform bills have tried to address the issue, but these bills have very little chance of success in the current political environment. From 2024: https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-lujan-welch-introduce-legislation-to-ban-gifts-for-supreme-court-justices https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hol...
- arjie 4mo ago
  In some sense, it is quite remarkable that the institution has survived this long considering they control outcomes of such vast power while being indirectly elected, holding the post for life, and there being such a high standard for the legislature to remove them that it has never been used successfully. Looking it up, Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas resigned from office because he accepted $20k from a chap who he was judging a case on. It reminds me of Babe Ruth's life time earnings being under a million, while Shohei Ohtani's annual pay rewound to 1931 dollars is some 3 times that.
margalabargala 4mo ago
They're probably referring to the millions of dollars of gifts Clarence Thomas received over the years, often just prior to ruling in the gift giver's favor. Here's the source I'm sure you'll want: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/06/supreme-court-justices-millions-dollars-gifts-clarence-thomas.html https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/06/supreme-court-justices-milli... It's a big surprising thing to hear about for the first time! Glad to help you become familiar.
- akramachamarei 4mo ago
  Note that, when you say "ruling in the gift givers favor," we should be careful not to imply that the gift givers were involved in any Supreme Court cases. At least, not Harlan Crow, who is the big name on this topic, was not involved in a SCOTUS case during Thomas' tenure. Not sure about the other gift givers. Presumably, someone would have pointed out by now if Thomas had received gifts from a party to case, and more likely he would have already recused before that became an issue.
  - croon 4mo ago
    What is a good faith/steelman reason for these gifts to exist at all?
    - akramachamarei 4mo ago
      Same reason as any gift? Friendship and fun :)
      - UncleMeat 4mo ago
        Who doesn’t get free yacht trips from their buddies? I’m curious what you think will happen with Crow’s gifts if Thomas doesn’t strategically retire this term.
        akramachamarei 4mo ago
        I'm not sure what you mean by happen "with." But, as a random online, my prediction is that nothing will happen. The whole media hubbub came and went, and IIRC Thomas slowed down the gift getting afterwards. I don't see anyone bringing suit or admin action or something.... I guess it's not impossible if and when Democrats gain control in 2028 they'll try something, but probably not, given the time separation and the desire to avoid the appearance of lawfare.
        margalabargala 4mo ago
        By "with", their meaning is, will the gifts continue if the recipient is no longer a Supreme Court justice?
        UncleMeat 4mo ago
        If Thomas becomes disfavored by rich conservative activists because he refuses to retire when Trump has an opportunity to safely replace him with somebody decades younger, do you think those rich conservative activists will keep spending millions of dollars on him?
  - 4mo ago

Analysis by Fix the Court identified 546 gifts valued at over $4.7 million given to 18 current and former justices, with Justice Clarence Thomas as the primary recipient. Judicial reform bills have tried to address the issue, but these bills have very little chance of success in the current political environment. From 2024: https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-lujan-welch-introduce-legislation-to-ban-gifts-for-supreme-court-justices https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hol...

arjie 4mo ago
In some sense, it is quite remarkable that the institution has survived this long considering they control outcomes of such vast power while being indirectly elected, holding the post for life, and there being such a high standard for the legislature to remove them that it has never been used successfully. Looking it up, Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas resigned from office because he accepted $20k from a chap who he was judging a case on. It reminds me of Babe Ruth's life time earnings being under a million, while Shohei Ohtani's annual pay rewound to 1931 dollars is some 3 times that.

margalabargala 4mo ago

They're probably referring to the millions of dollars of gifts Clarence Thomas received over the years, often just prior to ruling in the gift giver's favor. Here's the source I'm sure you'll want: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/06/supreme-court-justices-millions-dollars-gifts-clarence-thomas.html https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/06/supreme-court-justices-milli... It's a big surprising thing to hear about for the first time! Glad to help you become familiar.

akramachamarei 4mo ago
Note that, when you say "ruling in the gift givers favor," we should be careful not to imply that the gift givers were involved in any Supreme Court cases. At least, not Harlan Crow, who is the big name on this topic, was not involved in a SCOTUS case during Thomas' tenure. Not sure about the other gift givers. Presumably, someone would have pointed out by now if Thomas had received gifts from a party to case, and more likely he would have already recused before that became an issue.
- croon 4mo ago
  What is a good faith/steelman reason for these gifts to exist at all?
  - akramachamarei 4mo ago
    Same reason as any gift? Friendship and fun :)
    - UncleMeat 4mo ago
      Who doesn’t get free yacht trips from their buddies? I’m curious what you think will happen with Crow’s gifts if Thomas doesn’t strategically retire this term.
      - akramachamarei 4mo ago
        I'm not sure what you mean by happen "with." But, as a random online, my prediction is that nothing will happen. The whole media hubbub came and went, and IIRC Thomas slowed down the gift getting afterwards. I don't see anyone bringing suit or admin action or something.... I guess it's not impossible if and when Democrats gain control in 2028 they'll try something, but probably not, given the time separation and the desire to avoid the appearance of lawfare.
        margalabargala 4mo ago
        By "with", their meaning is, will the gifts continue if the recipient is no longer a Supreme Court justice?
        UncleMeat 4mo ago
        If Thomas becomes disfavored by rich conservative activists because he refuses to retire when Trump has an opportunity to safely replace him with somebody decades younger, do you think those rich conservative activists will keep spending millions of dollars on him?
- 4mo ago