Asked what if Trump won the presidency, Ginsburg said: “I don’t want to think about that possibility, but if it should be, then everything is up for grabs.”
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"I can’t imagine what this place would be — I can’t imagine what the country would be — with Donald Trump as our president. For the country, it could be four years. For the court, it could be — I don’t even want to contemplate that.
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“At first I thought it was funny,” she said of Trump’s early candidacy. "To think that there’s a possibility that he could be president ….
Before someone points it out, it is true that the Supreme Court justices have no formal ethical bounds on their conduct. Still, it is expected that they follow some ethical rules, even if they are not formally required to do so.
Based on the vituperative statements of Ginsburg about Trump, should she recuse herself from cases involving Trump administration?
A moment’s thought would make clear that the opinion, “Black people are naturally more inclined to criminal thoughts and behavior,” is ALSO protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Yet a judge who expressed that opinion would likely be asked to recuse himself in a trial involving a black defendant.
The answer to the question in the OP is “No,” but the reason behind the answer is NOT the one you gave.
This is ridiculous. Anyone nominated to the court by a particular president would have at least as strong a bias in favor of that president as Ginsburg would have against him. If you’re suggesting that justices should never rule on cases involving the president who nominated them, you’ll at least be treating things fairly.
Otherwise, I suggest it’s not Ginsburg’s bias that’s at issue here.
First, I beg to differ about “at least as strong”. Second, I am sure people have all kinds of biases, judges included. With Ginsburg, though, it is a very publicly expressed unambiguous bias.
I doubt that “personal bias or prejudice” includes having an opinion about a public figure. But following that reasoning, every judge should recuse themself whenever they start disliking a defendent or plaintiff?
If, before hearing the case, they have a strong dislike for the defendant or plaintiff - definitely.
By the way, here is the Code of Conduct for federal judges (again, before someone objects, I know that Ginsburg is free to ignore it, but from clear reading it applies to her (as in “Anyone who is an officer of the federal judicial system authorized to perform judicial functions is a judge for the purpose of this Code. All judges should comply with this Code except as provided below.” - the below does not exempt Supreme Court justices)
“(A) General Prohibitions. A judge should not:
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(2) make speeches for a political organization or candidate, or publicly endorse or oppose a candidate for public office”
Do you feel Scalia was a big fan of the Obama administration? Did you ever see him recuse himself from a case over it? Justices are presumed to be capable of separating who they vote for from how they rule.
It’s not a question of if he was a big fan. It is a question of whether there was any vituperation from Scalia directed at Obama either before or after Obama became President. Was there?
The ethics rules I cited require recusal if the judge “has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party”.
Is there any doubt that Ginsburg has very serious and publicly expressed personal bias and prejudice concerning Trump?