Dear Friends,

Respect for the law and our justice system runs deep in America. Our courts are not perfect, but we've been fortunate that the overwhelming majority of our judges, regardless of political party or philosophy, strive to uphold the ideal etched in stone above the entrance to the US Supreme Court: Equal Justice Under Law.

That's why what Common Cause has discovered this year – at the US Supreme Court – is so unsettling.

Beginning earlier this year, when we learned that some justices may have attended partisan strategy and fundraising meetings, and that Justice Clarence Thomas had failed for six years to disclose his wife's income, Common Cause has been asking how the court has placed itself above the law. Ethical standards that apply to all other federal judges don't apply to the nation's highest court, and certainly the highest court shouldn't have the lowest standards. 

We've invited two distinguished lawyers and observers of the court to join us at noon on Wednesday, June 29, for a discussion of this problem, and how citizens can push the Court and Congress to solve it. RSVP today to join us on this important conference call.

Our guests are:

‧ Justice Gary Stein, a veteran of 17 years on the New Jersey Supreme Court, now in private practice. As a former state supreme court justice, he has a special perspective on whether there should be different ethical standards for the Supreme Court.
‧ U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, D-Ct., sponsor of legislation that would extend to the Supreme Court the US Code of Conduct that applies to all federal judges and from which the high court is currently not bound. 
‧ Susan Lerner, a lawyer and executive director of Common Cause New York. 

After remarks from each speaker, we will welcome your questions and comments. 

With the court ending its term this week, this call is particularly timely. We hope you can join us. RSVP here and you'll receive an email with call-in information.

Sincerely,

Bob Edgar
and the rest of the team at Common Cause