Can Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Actually Be Stopped?

It’s nearly impossible to avoid hearing about the many, many scandals surrounding Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Last year, we were knee-deep in the news that his wife was a little too close to the people leading an insurrection against the United States government. In the several weeks, we’ve learned about his cozy financial relationship with a top Republican donor, which Thomas later defended. And none of that even touches on the harassment allegations made against him by Law Professor Anita Hill.

The question with Thomas isn’t whether another scandal will break but when. However, despite his frequent appearances in the headlines, we’ve yet to see real movement on efforts to reign him and other Justices in. But that could change. Over 30 progressive groups, and several Democratic lawmakers, including Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), are launching a massive push this week calling for structural changes to the Supreme Court.

Read more

• Aside from Halle Bailey, Here Are Other Black Disney Actors and Characters We Love [Update]

• Songs We Mistakenly Thought Were Sung By Black People

• Megan Thee Stallion Becomes 1st Black Woman to Land Forbes 30 Under 30 Cover

• 15 Priceless Black Twitter Moments Worth Remembering [Updated]

“Through its partisan decisions and repeated ethics violations, this far-right, extremist, and unaccountable Supreme Court is actively undermining our democracy and faces a crisis of legitimacy,” said Pressley in a statement. “It’s time for Congress to use its constitutional authority to expand the Court and pass a binding code of ethics for Supreme Court justices—real reforms that would restore the Court’s integrity and bring balance to the bench.”

The campaign, which also includes Democratic Senators Edward Markey (D-MA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), kicked off in Boston on Monday. The “Just Majority” tour will hit 20 cities nationwide before concluding in late June in Washington, D.C. Although complaints about the court certainly aren’t new, the sheer number of partners, including the aforementioned influential lawmakers, is notable.

What Is The “Just Majority” Campaign Asking For?

So, what exactly are progressives demanding in this campaign? Well, it’s nothing we haven’t heard before. The campaign is calling for Congress to enact a binding code of ethics for Supreme Court Justices and expand the court to include more than the current nine justices. The argument for court expansion is that it would help balance the judiciary, which many progressives claim has been captured by right-wing interest groups.

“Conservatives spent decades stacking our federal courts with ideologues, but it was the work of Trump and the Senate Republicans that dealt a major blow to our freedom when they rammed through a Supreme Court supermajority that’s already taken away our constitutional right to abortion,” said NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju. “This is an existential crisis, and we need all of our options on the table to salvage the legitimacy of our judiciary.”

Is Reforming The Supreme Court Possible?

Although Congress theoretically has the power to add justices to the Supreme Court, it’s unlikely we’ll see that happening soon. For one thing, Republicans currently control the House, and they’re not exactly incentivized to add more liberal justices to the court. Even if Republicans weren’t in control, there’s still a good chance it would be a dud. President Joe Biden came out publicly against “court packing,” late last year. And a previous bill to expand the court when Democrats were in control was essentially dead on arrival.

So what about ethics guidelines? It may surprise you to learn that the Supreme Court Justices are the only federal judges not bound by the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges. In fact, there are very few ethics guidelines governing the most powerful court in the country. Only one Supreme Court Justice in history has ever faced impeachment, Justice Samuel Chase, back in 1805, and he was acquitted.

There have been attempts to pass ethics reforms for the Supreme Court. Just this session, Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced the “Supreme Court Ethics Act,” which would create a code of conduct for the Supreme Court. It likely won’t surprise you that both bills are sitting in committee.

Even if Congress did pass ethics guidelines, they would still have to be enforced. And if the current situation with Thomas, who may have violated the already loose ethics guidelines, is any indication of Congress’ willingness to step in, enforcement could be challenging.

The “Just Majority” tour has only just kicked off, so it’s a little too soon to dismiss the possibility that we could see some real movement toward holding Supreme Court Justices accountable. But our track-record on Supreme Court reform isn’t exactly promising.

More from The Root

• Fierce Females: TV’s Most Badass Black Women

• A Supersized List of March 2023 Books by Black Authors We Can't Wait to Read

• 19 Political Karens Caught in Their Own Lies, Nonsense and Racism

Sign up for The Root's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.