The honorable members of the Supreme Court of the United States
Originally published last year, this post has been updated, revised and expanded in light of recent revelations
The New to Las Vegas world headquarters has obtained earlier drafts of the new U.S. Supreme Court ethics code announced in November 2023. To avoid bias, the court in conference had asked that the first version be written by AI “in the style of John Marshall Harlan.” He was the conscience of the Supreme Court more than a century ago with his dissents favoring civil liberties and equal rights.
But since unanimity was required in the court for the new code, the objection of any one justice required a provision to be struck. As the draft went through the review process, a large amount of extremely specific material was cut, leaving behind blander generalities.
Here is a leaked list of deleted passages and the justice or justices who vetoed them. Only Ketanji Brown Jackson, the newest justice, objected to nothing. It should be noted that the Supreme Court itself declared unanimously in Hustler v. Falwell, 485 U.S. 46 (1988), that political satire is protected speech under the First Amendment.
CANON 3(A): “A justice shall not display for public view, or allow to be displayed for public view, a flag or other other emblem on property reasonably under the control of the justice if that flag or emblem could be construed by others as an opinion on a matter before the Court or likely to come before it.” SAMUEL A. ALITO Jr.
CANON (3)(B)(2)(g): “A justice should disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the Justice’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned, that is, when an unbiased and reasonable person who is aware of all relevant circumstances would doubt that the justice could fairly discharge his or her duties.Such circumstances, include, but are not limited to, those in which … a justice displays for public view, or allow to be displayed for public view, a flag or other other emblem on property under the control of the justice if that flag or emblem could reasonably be construed by others as an opinion on a matter before the Court or likely to come before it.” ALITO.
CANON 4: “A justice shall not display for public view, or allow to be displayed for public view, a flag or other other emblem on property under the control of the justice if that flag or emblem could reasonably be construed by others as an opinion on a matter before the Court or likely to come before it.” ALITO.
CANON 3(A): “A justice shall not leak draft opinions.” ALITO.
CANON 4(A)(2): “A justice shall not state in public that Congress lacks any authority over the Supreme Court when Article 3 Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution declares that Congress has the power to make ‘Exceptions’ and ‘Regulations’ to the court’s jurisdiction.” ALITO.
CANON 4(D)(3): “A justice shall not take a seat on a private plane for personal travel without paying the going rate.” ALITO, CLARENCE THOMAS.
CANON 2(B): “A justice shall not sit in a case in which a family member within the third degree played a role in hiring advocates appearing before the court.” JOHN G. ROBERTS Jr.
CANON 4 (A)(b): “A justice shall not sit on a case involving the publisher of the justice’s book.” SONIA SOTOMAYOR, NEIL M. GORSUCH.
CANON 4(D)(1): “A justice shall not sell personally owned real estate to a lawyer whose firm represents clients before the court.” GORSUCH, THOMAS.
CANON 4(D)(3): “A justice shall not accept forbearance of a loan.” THOMAS.
CANON 4(H): “A justice may not accept a meal consisting of a single bagel from long-standing friends.” ELENA KAGAN.
CANON 2(B): “A justice may not receive free financial advice on how to augment income to pay for college education of dependents.” AMY CONEY BARRETT [no kin].
CANON 4: “As part of official duties, a justice may not attend a public function with an open bar.” BRETT KAVANAUGH.
CANON 3(B)(2): “A justice shall not sit in a case involving text messages of a family member within the third degree.” THOMAS.
CANON 2(A): “A justice shall not sit on a case alleging criminal activity if he or she has been creditably accused of similar activities in the past.” THOMAS, KAVANAUGH.
CANON 4(A)(1): “A justice shall not use a lecture trip to an obscure law school as a pretext to enjoy a fancy hunting excursion at little personal expense.” ANTONIN SCALIA. (Yeah, I know he’s long gone. But his ghost lurks, like that of Harlan. And Scalia joined the unanimous opinion in Hustler v. Falwell.)