Letters to the Editor: 'If we can't trust the judges' ethics, how can they judge ours?'
To the editor: Your editorial supporting ethics standards for the Supreme Court refers to Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s remark implying that critics of the court are motivated by displeasure with recent rulings.
I am surely not the first person to identify two distinct points underlying the distrust of the Supreme Court — and, at this time, of three specific justices.
The issuance of fundamentally flawed decisions in mean-spirited opinions is a matter of judicial malfeasance. On the other hand, an overwhelming indifference to the ethical and moral standards expected to apply to all persons — and particularly to judges — goes to something more fundamental than the absence of consistent principles in the court’s decisions.
I believe both the judicial and the ethical lapses by this court share a common root — the indifference of specific justices to any standard or principle beyond their own interests and preferences. This lies at the heart of the problem and, on both counts, it disqualifies the justices in question from their positions on the court.
Jack Quirk, Porter Ranch
..
To the editor: I am amazed at the GOP attitude toward requiring ethical standards at the Supreme Court.
I sold life insurance and related products for more than 40 years. My industry is held to the highest of ethical standards. Without the public's trust, my job would have been an impossible task to execute.
The Supreme Court has a profound effect on the daily lives of every citizen, so we need to trust the judgment of the court. I have always assumed that this group of jurists also held themselves accountable to the highest ethical standards, and it is shocking to learn otherwise.
This must change.
Richard Brown, Azusa
..
To the editor: It is rather disingenuous for the liberal media and the Democrats to now be so distraught that they are demanding new ethics rules for the Supreme Court.
Why is this such a concern now? It certainly didn’t appear to be a problem when there was a liberal court majority for so many years.
It is, however, quite obvious that the Democratic Party is furious the court now has a conservative majority, and it wants a way to change that.
Janet Polak, Beverly Hills
..
To the editor: I have a simple question: If we can't trust the judges' ethics, how can they judge ours?
Marc Scott, Pacific Palisades
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
