More than 90 retired Washington state Superior Court judges have signed a letter to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts expressing "grave concerns" about revelations of ethical quagmires on the court and calling on him to take measures to preserve the court's integrity.
In essence, the judges are calling on the Supreme Court — in the wake of reports detailing the gusher of lavish, secret gifts to Justice Clarence Thomas from a conservative megadonor, as well as the political conflicts of interest of his wife — to abide by the same standards as your average local judge.
"Most of us are very careful to avoid even the appearance of impropriety," said retired King County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ramsdell, who authored the letter. "So when you see situations as large as what you're seeing with the Supreme Court, it really impacts all of us."
Several retired Spokane County judges signed the letter, including Kathleen O'Connor, Harold Clarke, Tari Eitzen and James Murphy. Murphy said the letter was "quite unusual" — neither he nor Ramsdell could recall any such letter in the past, and no similar communication from retired judges in other states on the recent matters made public.
"It's kind of a rebuke of what's going on at the Supreme Court level," Murphy said. "The public's confidence in the judiciary is essential to the system of justice."
The recent ethical concerns — which are not detailed in the letter — are primarily centered around many extravagant gifts from major GOP donor Harlan Crow to Thomas; these included years of luxury vacations, private school tuition for a nephew of Thomas' and several real-estate transactions, among others. None of the gifts were reported on federal disclosure forms, and Thomas has said he didn't believe he was required to report them.
Thomas's wife, Ginni, also received unreported payments from Leonard Leo, a conservative judicial activist, and participated in political activism — including pushing to overturn the 2020 election — that sometimes overlapped directly with his role on the court.
Judicial ethics experts have called these gifts and conflicts far outside the norm. The revelations led to calls for Thomas to resign or be impeached, and for the court, or Congress, to adopt a stronger, more enforceable code of ethics.
Most any other judge in the land would be required to report such gifts, and to recuse themselves from any matter where they had a conflict of interest. The retired Superior Court judges who signed the letter were all required, when they were on the bench, to report details of their personal finances to the Public Disclosure Commission; a state commission on judicial conduct investigates ethics complaints.
Ramsdell said many judges he knew would not accept so much as a cup of coffee from anyone who might wind up before them in court.
Murphy said, "If I called a judge anywhere in the country and said, 'I just received a new Corvette from somebody who has a case in my court, should I do anything about that?' they're going to say, 'Heck yes. You've got to report it to someone.' "
Roberts has resisted congressional inquiries. He said late last month that he's committed to ensuring the justices follow the "highest standards of conduct," while maintaining the court's independence.
That's not enough, the judges' letter suggests, and the failure puts at risk the credibility not just of the high court — but all courts.
"The Supreme Court is faced with a choice," the letter, dated May 1, reads. "It can take public remedial action or it can choose to maintain an air of insularity in the hope that the crisis will pass. For the sake of the institution that we all served and cherish, we respectfully urge you to exercise your authority as Chief Justice and take appropriate action that will restore the public's trust and confidence in the Supreme Court and, by extrapolation, all courts. Rest assured that the legacy of your response will be felt at every level of court for decades to come."
Roberts hasn't answered the letter. Ramsdell said he was motivated to write about "the whole panoply of issues that have come to light," which could erode faith in not just the Supreme Court — but the entire judiciary.
"The judicial branch has to rely upon the respect of others to carry out the rulings it makes," he said. "I think the vast majority of us take that seriously."
The letter calls on Roberts to take steps to restore the public trust, but doesn't specify those steps. Ramsdell said he isn't exactly sure how the court should proceed, but it should begin with adopting a code of ethics; given the fact that the court sits atop one of three co-equal branches of government, it's not clear how the authority for enforcing such a code would be designed.
But it's also clear that the court hasn't been great at tending its own ethical garden. Ramsdell cited the court's investigation into the leak of the Dobbs opinion on abortion; the probe was conducted by people who answer to the judges and did not reflect any interviews or inquiry into the activities of the justices themselves, which has also led to calls for stricter mechanism for enforcing ethical guidelines, either within the court or without.
"I'm not so sure they were really serious about finding out where the leak was," Ramsdell said.
The revelations about Thomas have led to calls for Congress to pass legislation establishing an enforceable code of ethics for the court — and some say it's unclear whether it can do so, given the separation of powers built into the constitution.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, among others, have sponsored legislation that would enact a series of ethics reforms across the federal judiciary; the proposal includes tougher limits on gifts and privately funded travel, a requirement that the Supreme Court adopt a binding code of conduct like every other court in the land, a requirement that justices issue written decisions when asked to recuse themselves from a case, and other new measures.
Ramsdell said he's not optimistic that the calls for change will actually produce change, since the issue has become heavily politicized. But he said it was important not to remain silent.
"Change doesn't happen unless there's a push," he said. "If we don't do something, we're somewhat complicit in allowing the status quo to exist."
