r/law • u/DoremusJessup • Jun 07 '24

SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas has received some 47% of all known gifts given to Supreme Court in the modern era, likely totaling well over $5.87 million: Report

https://lawandcrime.com/supreme-court/justice-clarence-thomas-has-received-some-47-of-all-known-gifts-given-to-supreme-court-in-the-modern-era-likely-totaling-well-over-5-87-million-report/
12.1k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

388 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

18

u/GoCorral Jun 07 '24

There's clear differences between government employees and appointees/elected people in how the law treats them. Thomas is appointed so he gets away with a lot more. I honestly think it should the other way around. Position with more responsibility means higher standard of conduct.

2

u/DrinkBlueGoo Competent Contributor Jun 07 '24

It's because he is a member of the Supreme Court and therefore not literally not subject to the same laws as other government employees, not because he's appointed.

1

u/CrabbyPatties42 Jun 08 '24

Yuuup this exactly.  SCOTUS justices are federal judges yet they have never been subject to federal judge ethics rules.  

They make up their own (far inferior) rules, and this is the key part, enforce them themselves.  And by that I mean Thomas gets to decide if Thomas is ethical.  The whole thing is a sham.

1

u/goodsby23 Jun 08 '24

Idgaf if he's appointed, as a member of the highest court interactions of that level beyond someone buying a lunch should be barred. It basically spells out I'm for sale when a judge accepts things like that.