'Grovels before its own authors': Expert slams 'meek suggestions' of SCOTUS' ethics code

One of the most glaring problems with the new code of ethics adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court is its lack of teeth, Sabrina Haake wrote in Salon this Friday, adding that the code "grovels before its own authors."

"Instead of mandating, directing, or using the word 'shall,' the code grovels before its own authors, flattering them with meek suggestions that justices 'should,' 'should not' and might 'endeavor to' act in certain ways," writes Haake, a veteran federal trial attorney.

"The code only looks forward, not backward, and there are no penalties and no provisions for investigating [Justice Samuel Alito] and [Justice Clarence Thomas’] conduct anyway," Haake writes, referring to reports regarding the Justices' ethics.

"The code fails to create an inspector general, a retired jurist panel, or any other entity with oversight authority over the court, so the members will continue to be their own personal judges," she writes.

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Alito is accused of accepting an expensive Alaskan fishing retreat paid for by a major GOP donor who had multiple cases before the court. The justice failed to recuse himself in multiple cases that involved the donor.

Thomas has come under fire for receiving luxurious gifts for decades from conservative mega-donor Harlan Crowe.

Read the full op-ed over at Salon.