Federal judges continue to withhold disclosure of their travel and gifts

“Judge Cannon continues to make mistakes both inside and outside the courtroom,” Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, told Business Insider. “Here’s someone who knows what they’re supposed to do and still doesn’t follow the law.”

A representative for the Southern District of Florida did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

Disclosure of Cannon’s disclosure it’s just one example from a growing list of ethical indiscretions which attracted attention America’s seemingly untouchable lawyers in recent months.

Cannon’s unsavory revelations harken back to more egregious disclosure failures by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, which included a nine-day yacht vacation in Bali with GOP donor Harlan Crow and several trips aboard the billionaire’s private jet .

Meanwhile, Justice Samuel Alito accepted a luxury fishing trip from another conservative billionaire who served as chairman of a group that filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court asking him to block student loan forgiveness.

So why do the country’s judges continue to flout the rules?

Because I can.

“Federal judges are gods and they can get away with anything,” Rahmani said.

ProPublica reported that Cannon failed three times to comply with a 2006 rule designed to raise awareness of judges’ participation in privately paid conferences that could impact sitting judges’ decision-making.

According to the publication, Cannon did not disclose that he attended a May 2023 banquet honoring the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia at the Center for Law and Economics at George Mason University, a conservative law school. More than 30 conservative federal judges, members of the Scalia family and several colleagues from the conservative Federalist Society also attended, ProPublica reported.

Who judges the judges?

But even with the rules in place — handrails the Supreme Court completely lacked until earlier this year — legal experts said there are usually few consequences for a justice who violates ethical expectations.

Federal judges serve for life and, for all intents and purposes, police themselves. Impeachment of a judge, meanwhile, requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate — a nonstarter given the extreme polarization of Congress.

“There aren’t many remedies right now,” Scott Lemieux, a University of Washington political science professor and constitutional law expert, told BI.

This leaves the superior courts as the only potential enforcers of judicial ethics. But legal experts said self-policing within the judiciary is far from fair.

“There is a lack of a central system, and judges are reluctant to judge other judges on their errors,” said John J. Perlstein, a Los Angeles lawyer.

As pressure on the judiciary heats up after several recent SCOTUS scandals, court watchers are increasingly eager for a surefire way to keep judges in line.

Earlier this summer, President Joe Biden called on Congress to implement term limits and an enforceable code of ethics for Supreme Court justices.

The nine Supreme Court justices agreed to a code of conduct last year, modeling their new guidelines after the rules governing federal judges. But legal experts said both ultimately lack meaningful application, with the rule essentially just for show.

“It’s a huge problem,” Rahamni said. “People don’t trust the justice system.”

California Rep. Adam Schiff introduced a bill earlier this year that would expand penalties for federal judges who violate ethics rules. The legislation would apply executive conflict of interest statutes to the federal judiciary.

But even that solution invites a paradox.

“The judges could just reprimand him,” Lemieux said.