Why Judges Matter: Sometimes the “court of last resort” is a court

Victimized by credit reporting agencies, a desperate consumer turns to federal court

Perhaps you saw the segment of 60 Minutes this week about the nightmare that can follow when credit reporting agencies make mistakes – something they do with alarming frequency.  (If you missed it, you can see it here):

The story made clear that the process for trying to get an error corrected doesn’t work.  Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine alleged that the companies routinely violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

But what struck us was how one victim finally got justice – the one and only step she could take.

Her name is Judy Thomas.  But the bad credit of one Judith Kendall somehow wound up on her report.  According to 60 Minutes:

 it became a six-year battle with credit agencies, requiring box loads of correspondence to try and prove that she was Judy Thomas, not Judith Kendall, all to no avail. …

There are logs of daily phone calls to dispute centers, hundreds of letters to Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, even correspondence from Judith's Kendall's creditors in Utah, acknowledging that the debts on her credit report aren't hers. …

Thomas told 60 Minutes:

“I couldn't refinance. I couldn't take advantage of the interest rates. I couldn't get a new-- I couldn't get a car. I couldn't cosign for my children's student loans. And I'd worked hard for my credit. I was-- and these people were taking it away from me.”

Then comes what is, in many ways the most important part of the story:

Finally Judy Thomas took the only recourse available to her. She sued Equifax and TransUnion in federal court. And after a year-long battle, the credit reporting agencies settled for an undisclosed sum and promised to clean up her file.

Federal courts don’t just deal with abstract concepts, or with terror suspects or alleged crime bosses.  Sometimes federal courts are the only recourse for everyday Americans like Judy Thomas.  That, of course, is one reason why it’s so important that there is a judge for every vacancy on our federal courts.  When there are too few judges, cases like this drag on for years – something that the Judy Thomas’ of the word cannot afford.  Or they may never be brought at all.

Of course there are other solutions – like enforcing the Fair Credit Reporting Act and beefing up penalties for credit reporting agencies that fail to correct their mistakes.  But when all else fails, we need federal courts – fully staffed with federal judges.

AFJ President Nan Aron on the need for a progressive judiciary

Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron, interviewed Feb. 5 on KPFA Pacifica Radio's Up Front. (www.kpfa.org)  She discusses issues including the need for a progressive judiciary, the importance of naming judges with diverse professional backgrounds, and the record of the Obama Administration.  You can listen to the entire interview here:

Oops: They're doing it again: Another Supreme Court Justice flouts ethical standards

Alito speaks at Federalist Society fundraiser, following in ethically-challenged footsteps of Scalia and Thomas

AFJ and Common Cause released this statement today:

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 16 - For the second year in a row, a justice of the Supreme Court has flouted judicial ethics by headlining a fundraising gala for a lawyers group, the Alliance for Justice and Common Cause said Friday.

From the Federalist Society website

Justice Samuel Alito was a featured speaker at the "30th Anniversary Gala Dinner" of the Federalist Society on Thursday night.  Alito’s appearance was the drawing card for the $175-dollar-a-plate event, the society’s website indicates.

Were Justice Alito sitting on any lower federal court, his appearance would violate Canon 4C of the Code of Conduct for federal judges.  That canon explicitly bans federal judges from being featured speakers and guests of honor at fundraising events. The code does not formally apply to the Supreme Court however.

Last year, Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia spoke at the same Federalist Society fundraising event.  The annual dinners attract a crowd of more than 1,200 lobbyists, judges and lawyers, including some with high-profile cases before the court. Attendees at Thursday’s dinner, for example, included at least three lawyers involved in cases challenging the constitutionality of the federal Voting Rights Act. Their Washington-based firm, Wiley Rein LLP, was a “silver” sponsor.

Justice Alito has become a regular at such functions, having previously spoken at fundraising events for the American Spectator magazine and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.  The Institute describes itself as working for "limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, the rule of law, market economy and moral norms."

Alliance for Justice President Nan Aron noted that a 2012 Hart Research Associates poll conducted for AFJ found that only 41% of Americans approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing.  "If the public begins to believe that the justices are just politicians in robes, their credibility will further erode."

"In his 2011 Annual Report, Chief Justice John Roberts claimed that 'All members of the Court do in fact consult the Code of Conduct in assessing their ethical obligations,'" Aron said. "But it is clear that they are free to routinely ignore that guidance.  That’s why guidance is not enough.  Either the justices should formally agree to abide by the Code or Congress should require it."

"The words 'Equal Justice Under Law,' are carved into the marble above the entrance to the Supreme Court," said Common Cause President Bob Edgar, "but it’s clear that when it comes to judicial ethics, some members of the court consider themselves better than equal to the rest of the federal judiciary. Their refusal to embrace and abide by the Code of Conduct is disturbing."

Edgar and Aron emphasized that addressing an organization like the Federalist Society is not, in itself, a breach of ethics.  The ethical line is crossed when the justice’s appearance is used to raise money for the organization.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

From AFJ:

• AFJ Video: A Question of Integrity and background material about ethics issues and the Code of Conduct

• Analysis of the ethical issues involved in Justices Scalia and Thomas speaking at a Federalist Society fundraiser from Prof. Stephen Gillers of New York University School of Law

From Common Cause:

• Our highest court shouldn’t be held to the lowest standard.
• Hours after considering challenges to health care reform, Supreme Court justices are honored at fundraiser sponsored by law firms representing reform opponents.