Supreme Court gave birth to ‘toothless’ code of conduct | READER COMMENTARY

The Supreme Court of the United States wants to hoodwink Americans into believing that since it now has a written code of conduct and ethics it has been transformed and the justices will police themselves based on this code (”Supreme Court ethics rules: oxymoron?” Nov. 15). This toothless code of conduct should not reassure the American public that the Supreme Court justices will not continue as before. It is not a guarantee that the court’s nine privileged men and women, entitled, lifelong appointees to the bench, will be made to recuse themselves if there is even a whiff of conflict of interest or that they’ll be taken to account when they don’t report gifts they receive from their rich corporate buddies to the court as well as to the IRS.

Also, I doubt that the new rules of conduct will be applied retroactively to Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, who have received generous gifts from their rich patrons with a vested interest in how the highest court in the land rules on certain issues.

Even after the creation of its written code of conduct, the Supreme Court will remain an arrogant and autonomous, majority conservative body at the top of the American justice system, unbendable about abortion, religion and guns, almost always ruling from and for the political right. Only term limits for the justices or an expansion of the court to modify the sting of its right-wing rulings will suffice.

— Usha Nellore, Bel Air

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