Michael Mukasey — With A Straight Face — Argues That Maintaining Friendships Is More Important Than Judicial Ethics And Not Breaking Federal Laws

// For those of you following along at home, Senator Durbin asked Chief Justice Roberts to speak about judicial ethics on behalf of the Court he’s supposed to be running. Instead, Roberts set up to dodge judicial accountability harder than Patches O’Houlihan’s students dodge wrenches. He recently made good on that promise and Republicans were left with former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Gibson Dunn’s Thomas Dupree testifying on the behalf of the Court’s opposition to any serious ethical standard. And Dear God, it is going about as well as you’d expect it to.

Mukasey: If I were a district judge and somebody wanted to fly me on his private plane on a vacation with his family, I were friendly with that person, would I have refused and endangered the friendship? I’m not sure that I would’ve pic.twitter.com/nKNg1wfnuA

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 2, 2023

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It is pretty simple actually. If you were good friends with someone who knew you were a district judge, they should understand that there are certain things you may have to abstain from because, and here comes the million dollar phrase, certain actions can carry with them the “appearance (or actuality) of impropriety.” And it is worth emphasizing the “may” from the sentence earlier — nothing actually prevents the judge from doing so, they’d just have to disclose the nature of the trip!

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I genuinely do not know which is the more newsworthy story. That the only person they could find to defend the Court’s position did such a blunderous job, or the fact that Roberts refused to show up to the damned thing in the first place! I mean…what? Senator Durbin invited the guy who is supposed to be the head of the Court to give an account to Congress and the general public explaining how and why he’s done such a poor job of running ship and this was the response?:

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After refusing to show up and providing a condescending and questionably persuasive lesson on the separation of powers, Roberts had to pen a follow-up letter to explain the new toothless ethical code that the justices scribbled on the back of a napkin:

He told you to buzz off, you know the whole separation of powers thing. Don't like it? Pass a constitutional amendment, or shut up.

— John Basinger (@JCBasinger) May 2, 2023

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Thankfully, not everyone is pulling the powerless to act shtick. One speaker with a well defined moral back bone is former Fourth Circuit judge Michael J. Luttig. From CNN:

In a carefully worded, but blunt statement, conservative former federal judge J. Michael Luttig sent a warning shot to the Supreme Court, calling on the Court to enact a code of conduct that would “subject itself to the highest professional and ethical standards that would render the Court beyond reproach.”

If the Supreme Court does not take such action, he cautioned, Congress has “the power under the Constitution” to prescribe ethical standards of conduct for the court.

The statement is part of written testimony Luttig – a former judge on the US 4th Circuit Court of Appeals – has submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee holding hearings Tuesday and follows weeks of ethical controversies involving the Supreme Court. Luttig’s public admonition is especially notable because of his conservative credentials and his longstanding, close ties with the Supreme Court.

But, does Congress really have the power to step in? Roberts is taking the stance that Article III can only police itself, but any grade school civics lesson would say that the Constitution is all about checks and balances and the judiciary seems to be on the giving end of all those checks without any receiving. And without those safeguards flowing both ways, people will just keep cutting the justices checks as their bank balances rise.

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Because…you wouldn’t want to hurt those friendships now would you?

Earlier: Roberts Says Separation Of Powers Means He Can’t Testify, Senate Should Remind Him It Also Means ‘Good Luck, Paying Your Bills, A**hole!’
Harvard Law Professor Argues That The Supreme Court No Longer Cares About Its Own ‘Legitimacy.’ What Now?
Paragon Of Virtue Clarence Thomas Has Been Given Millions Of Dollars In Value Off The Record And It Totally Hasn’t Impacted His Judging. Not One Bit. Nope.
Biglaw Head Bought Neil Gorsuch’s Property In 2017. Yes, We Are Just Learning About It Now.
Leading Conservative Former Judge Warns Supreme Court It Must Adopt The ‘Highest’ Standard Of Ethics Rules [CNN]

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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

Topics

Courts, John Roberts, Judicial Ethics, Michael Mukasey, Supreme Court