(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Supreme Court’s fig-leaf ethics code hasn’t swayed public opinion [1] ['Daily Kos Staff'] Date: 2023-11-22 The U.S. Supreme Court did little to sway the public’s negative opinion of it by finally conceding it should have a code of ethics. Two new surveys show that the court is as unpopular as ever and that the electorate supports Congress both investigating the justices’ ties with partisan megadonors and imposing new ethics rules on them. A YouGov survey for Demand Justice released Tuesday, which was conducted after the court announced the code, found that 74% of voters say “Congress should pass a stricter code of ethics for the Supreme Court that does not leave the justices to police themselves, and Congress should investigate the ties between justices and political mega donors.” On Monday, Navigator Research released its survey finding that the court is underwater in approval, with 42% viewing the court favorably and 48% unfavorably. A majority of 53% don’t trust the court to make unbiased decisions. And a healthy majority ”support[s] reforms to the Supreme Court, including term limits, investigations of ethics violations, and a new code of conduct for the court.” That’s 66% supporting term limits, 68% supporting congressional investigations into ethics abuses, and 68% supporting “a new code of conduct for the Supreme Court that would implement stricter financial disclosure rules, and allow formal complaints against justices to be investigated by judges serving on lower courts.” Another new national approval survey from the Marquette Law School Poll conducted before the code was announced confirms the dismal attitude the people hold toward the high court: 59% disapprove, even worse than the 57% disapproval rating from the same poll in September. The fig-leaf code the Supreme Court announced earlier this month was as big a flop with the people as it was with the media. The neutral Associated Press pointed out in its headline that the code “has no means of enforcement.” The New York Times story is headlined: “Supreme Court’s New Ethics Code Is Toothless, Experts Say.” Opinion pieces are more brutal. A Times editorial board member wrote that “if the court wants to regain its standing with the American people, it’s going to have to try harder than this.” A columnist in The Hill said the “new ‘code’ does nothing to enhance ethics.” A Harvard Law professor calls it the court’s “self-excusing ethics code.” The supposed code has fooled no one except maybe Senate Republicans who have no problem with corruption on the court, since it’s their side. They will undoubtedly point to the court’s nod toward ethics when they escalate their war in the Judiciary Committee against accountability. RELATED STORIES: Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to vote on subpoenas for Supreme Court benefactors Senate Republicans endorse Supreme Court corruption The many flaws in the Supreme Court's new code of ethics Republicans are challenging labor leaders to fights and allegedly physically assaulting one another. Donald Trump says he will abolish reproductive rights entirely and is openly calling for the extermination of his detractors, referring to them as “vermin” on Veterans Day. The Republican Party has emerged from its corruption cocoon as a full-blown fascist movement. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/22/2207268/-Supreme-Court-s-fig-leaf-ethics-code-hasn-t-swayed-public-opinion?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_10&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/