Judicial Ethics

In 2009, Ginni Thomas founded a “tea party” nonprofit called Liberty Central to help defeat President Barack Obama’s signature legislative accomplishment, the Affordable Care Act. She raised $550,000 from undisclosed donors to fund it. This prompted the nonprofit Common Cause to call on Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case challenging limits on corporate political spending. He did not. Further investigation by Common Cause revealed that Clarence Thomas had failed to disclose the $686,589 salary his wife earned from the conservative Heritage Foundation, a major opponent of Obama’s health care law, from 2003-2007.

In a letter sent to the U.S. Senate this morning, Common Cause urged senators to confirm U.S. Circuit Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. Common Cause’s letter highlighted Judge Jackson’s strong commitment to justice for all and the wealth of experience she brings that led to bi-partisan support throughout her judicial career.

The confirmation of any Supreme Court justice is one of the most important moments for our democracy and constitutional system. The U.S. Senate owes it to the American people to ensure Judge Jackson receives a fair hearing and an up-or-down vote.

Common Cause is urging every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “yes” in support of the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, HR 5720. The legislation will extend to federal judges, the same conflict of interest reporting requirements that are applied to Members of Congress under the STOCK Act. The letter, sent yesterday to every Member of the House, points to an extensive investigation by The Wall Street Journal that found that over an eight-year period more than 100 federal judges failed to recuse themselves in nearly 700 cases in which they had a financial stake. The letter also notes that Common Cause plans to key-vote this legislation in our Democracy Scorecard, which we send to our 1.5 million members.  

Say the legislation “is the bold, comprehensive bill we need because the threats to our democracy are deep, systemic, and wide-ranging”

A letter signed by almost 100 small business and community leaders urging Senator Susan Collins to support the “For the People Act” was released at an event at Portland City Hall. More than four dozen people gathered at a rally sponsored by Common Cause to hear local business leaders explain why the bill needs to become law.