SCOTUS is Flat Out Broken

[kalm]

Yes, both sides do it . It’s corrupt beyond belief and “friendraising” isn’t just a catchy term for next level marketing.

They aren’t just above the law as they create their own laws and rules for oversight.

And here we are arguing precedence and original intent as though they really matter.

US colleges and universities are ‘selling access’ to supreme court justices

Papers show how judges come in regular contact with big donors and have lent the prestige of their position to aid partisan activity
Associated Press
Tue 11 Jul 2023 14.46 EDT

When supreme court justice Clarence Thomas headlined a 2017 program at McLennan Community College in Texas, his hosts had more than a speech in mind.

The US supreme court has hijacked American democracy
Moira Donegan
Moira Donegan
Read more
Working with the prominent conservative lawyer Ken Starr, school officials crafted a guest list for a dinner at the home of a wealthy Texas businessman, hoping an audience with Thomas would be a reward for school patrons – and an inducement to prospective donors.


Before Justice Elena Kagan visited the University of Colorado’s law school in 2019, one official in Boulder suggested a “larger donor-to-staff ratio” for a dinner with her.

After Justice Sonia Sotomayor confirmed she would attend a 2017 question-and-answer session at Clemson University and a private luncheon, officials there made sure to invite $1m-plus donors to the South Carolina college.

The Associated Press obtained tens of thousands of pages of emails and other documents that reveal the extent to which public colleges and universities have seen visits by justices as opportunities to generate donations – regularly putting the jurists in the room with influential donors, including some whose industries have had interests before the court.

The documents also reveal that justices spanning the court’s ideological divide have lent the prestige of their positions to partisan activity, headlining speaking events with prominent politicians, or advanced their own personal interests, such as sales of their books, through college visits.

The conduct would likely be prohibited if done by lower court federal judges. But the supreme court’s definition of banned fundraising is very narrow.

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/ju ... tid=Zxz2cZ

[houndawg]

Yes, both sides do it . It’s corrupt beyond belief and “friendraising” isn’t just a catchy term for next level marketing.

They aren’t just above the law as they create their own laws and rules for oversight.

And here we are arguing precedence and original intent as though they really matter.

US colleges and universities are ‘selling access’ to supreme court justices

Papers show how judges come in regular contact with big donors and have lent the prestige of their position to aid partisan activity
Associated Press
Tue 11 Jul 2023 14.46 EDT

When supreme court justice Clarence Thomas headlined a 2017 program at McLennan Community College in Texas, his hosts had more than a speech in mind.

The US supreme court has hijacked American democracy
Moira Donegan
Moira Donegan
Read more
Working with the prominent conservative lawyer Ken Starr, school officials crafted a guest list for a dinner at the home of a wealthy Texas businessman, hoping an audience with Thomas would be a reward for school patrons – and an inducement to prospective donors.


Before Justice Elena Kagan visited the University of Colorado’s law school in 2019, one official in Boulder suggested a “larger donor-to-staff ratio” for a dinner with her.

After Justice Sonia Sotomayor confirmed she would attend a 2017 question-and-answer session at Clemson University and a private luncheon, officials there made sure to invite $1m-plus donors to the South Carolina college.

The Associated Press obtained tens of thousands of pages of emails and other documents that reveal the extent to which public colleges and universities have seen visits by justices as opportunities to generate donations – regularly putting the jurists in the room with influential donors, including some whose industries have had interests before the court.

The documents also reveal that justices spanning the court’s ideological divide have lent the prestige of their positions to partisan activity, headlining speaking events with prominent politicians, or advanced their own personal interests, such as sales of their books, through college visits.

The conduct would likely be prohibited if done by lower court federal judges. But the supreme court’s definition of banned fundraising is very narrow.

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2023/ju ... tid=Zxz2cZ

The Roberts Court will be rememberd as the Court on duty when the Kangaroo became the official symbol of SCOTUS

[kalm]

I charge all of my Christmas party guests.

Several lawyers who have had business before the supreme court, including one who successfully argued to end race-conscious admissions at universities, paid money to a top aide to Justice Clarence Thomas, according to the aide’s Venmo transactions. The payments appear to have been made in connection to Thomas’s 2019 Christmas party.


The payments to Rajan Vasisht, who served as Thomas’s aide from July 2019 to July 2021, seem to underscore the close ties between Thomas, who is embroiled in ethics scandals following a series of revelations about his relationship with a wealthy billionaire donor, and certain senior Washington lawyers who argue cases and have other business in front of the justice.

Vasisht’s Venmo account – which was public prior to requesting comment for this article and is no longer – show that he received seven payments in November and December 2019 from lawyers who previously served as Thomas legal clerks. The amount of the payments is not disclosed, but the purpose of each payment is listed as either “Christmas party”, “Thomas Christmas Party”, “CT Christmas Party” or “CT Xmas party”, in an apparent reference to the justice’s initials.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... reme-court

[houndawg]

I charge all of my Christmas party guests.

Several lawyers who have had business before the supreme court, including one who successfully argued to end race-conscious admissions at universities, paid money to a top aide to Justice Clarence Thomas, according to the aide’s Venmo transactions. The payments appear to have been made in connection to Thomas’s 2019 Christmas party.


The payments to Rajan Vasisht, who served as Thomas’s aide from July 2019 to July 2021, seem to underscore the close ties between Thomas, who is embroiled in ethics scandals following a series of revelations about his relationship with a wealthy billionaire donor, and certain senior Washington lawyers who argue cases and have other business in front of the justice.

Vasisht’s Venmo account – which was public prior to requesting comment for this article and is no longer – show that he received seven payments in November and December 2019 from lawyers who previously served as Thomas legal clerks. The amount of the payments is not disclosed, but the purpose of each payment is listed as either “Christmas party”, “Thomas Christmas Party”, “CT Christmas Party” or “CT Xmas party”, in an apparent reference to the justice’s initials.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... reme-court

CT Xmas present