The Judicial Ethics Forum (JEF)

It has been tough lately to keep up with the Justices of the Supreme Court and their ethics.  Various allegations recently have been lodged against various justices: Justice Scalia (Koch-brothers-conspiring); Justice Thomas (same, and Tea-Party-marrying); Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (robo-calling); and Justice Alito (Spectator-supporting).  To be sure, much of this is much ado about nothing, but some of it is about something (try, for instance, the appearance of impartiality), which is why I like and agree with the title of Dahlia Lithwick’s recent piece in Slate — Running with Gavels: Justices Need to Set Clearer Rules About Partisan Political Activity.  Click on it for a good current-events survey of the Justices and their political affairs. 

UPDATE: By agreeing to speak semi-privately to the Tea Party Caucus, Justice Scalia has just upped his bid to be the most controversial Supreme Court Justice in terms of partisanship and disqualification.  For a good discussion of the issues, click on Legal Ethics Forum.