Posted on 01/27/2006 3:16:43 PM PST by SmithL
WASHINGTON -- Three senators on Friday proposed new limits on expense-paid trips for federal judges and a system to let the public know about potential courthouse conflicts.
Judges would be barred from taking free trips to seminars sponsored by special interests, although they could participate if their courts paid their ways, under the proposal by Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, John Kerry of Massachusetts and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, all Democrats.
The plan also would require judges to maintain and make public "recusal lists" of companies in which they have a financial interest and potential conflict.
Judge travel has been criticized in recent years. The public-interest law firm Community Rights Counsel found in 2002 that 22 federal judges took trips underwritten by major corporations and failed to list the trips on financial disclosure forms.
The group's executive director, Doug Kendall, said Friday that "junkets for members of Congress are bad, but junkets for federal judges — our nation's umpires — are far worse."
With Congress considering ethics reforms for itself, related to the conviction of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, "there is no better time to clean up the judicial branch as well," said Kendall.
The proposed restrictions would not affect Supreme Court justices but follow criticism by some news outlets of Justice Antonin Scalia for allowing the Federalist Society to pay his way to a resort in Colorado last fall.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Pot and kettle
Yeah - I really wonder which why to go considering THEY want this.
Yeah, the foxes are arguing over who is going to watch the hen house....what a bunch of thieves.
Kerry has access to billions of dollars. As is so typical of his sort, they seem to get their biggest kick out of smacking around people who earn less money than they do.
Does this mean that Ginsburg would have to recuse herself from any case brought by the ACLU?
The three senators that are the epitome of honesty are trying to do us citizens a favor by cleaning up the corruption in the judicial branch of government. This is laughable.
"The group's executive director, Doug Kendall, said Friday that "junkets for members of Congress are bad, but junkets for federal judges — our nation's umpires — are far worse."
Hmmmmmm! Yeah! Stealing is always way worse if you're not an elected official! Jeeeezzz!
Knock me over with a feather. This is actually a constructive reform given that trial lawyers are typically the people who sponsor these seminars, which involve expense paid cruises for judges to places like Greece and the Bahamas. Of course, these cruises have absolutely no influence on the federal judges who participate in the cruises -- at least that is what the federal judges say.
Maybe she and Maureen Dowd can split a hotel room.
Yeah, did he phone that one in from Davos, too? Wouldn't that add a nice touch of irony.
This sounds like a good bill for all US Senators to live by.
Kerry never earned the money. He married it.
I agree with them. Let's load the judiciary up with all kinds of baggage so that all of the sitting judges decide to retire.
You check out Ms. Heinz some time ~ Kerry earns every last penny of it!
"Does this mean that Ginsburg would have to recuse herself from any case brought by the ACLU?"
The RATS will claim the ACLU is a special interest of all Americans so it is exempt.
Hey Kerry .... who paid for your one day trip to Switzerland???
BTW .. how many other members of congress go over there??
Pre-emptive strike by the Rats...On list of junket takers the Dems occupy the top 20 slots! The amazing thing is that this was legal in the first place. Makes one understand why the french went a little guillotine crazy at the Bastille.
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