And look at the ongoing scandals it took to make the Judicial Conference do what they apparently could have done all along! Via Reuters:
March 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices and federal judges can no longer avoid disclosing the value of travel-related gifts they receive by classifying such free trips as "reimbursements" on their financial disclosure forms under new regulations now in effect.
The regulations, announced by the federal judiciary late on Friday, follow revelations that conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had not disclosed luxury trips paid for by a wealthy benefactor.
Following media reports on those trips, Thomas in August filed a delayed 2022 financial disclosure report listing private jet trips provided by Texas businessman Harlan Crow to or from Dallas for conferences in February and May of that year and to a property in upstate New York's Adirondack Mountains last July.
Thomas listed the flight to the Adirondacks by private plane as well as related lodging, food and entertainment as "reimbursements" and not as a "gift" from Crow whose value would need to be disclosed.
Even better, the new rules also put a stop to right-wing groups judge shopping for more favorable venues. The U.S. Judicial Conference that oversees the federal judiciary say that if a case seeks a national injunction to reverse or block a federal government policy, it must be randomly assigned to a judge within the district.
