Justices’ visits to campuses reveal ethical dilemmas

College events often appear tied to fund-raising

WASHINGTON — When Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas headlined a 2017 program at McLennan Community College in Texas, his hosts had more than a speech in mind. Working with the prominent conservative lawyer Ken Starr, school officials crafted a guest list for a dinner at a wealthy Texas businessman’s home, hoping an audience with Thomas would be a reward for school patrons — and an inducement to prospective donors.

Before Justice Elena Kagan visited the University of Colorado’s law school in 2019, one official in Boulder suggested a “larger donor to staff ratio” for a dinner with her. After Justice Sonia Sotomayor confirmed she would attend a 2017 questionand-answer session at Clemson University and a private luncheon, officials there made sure to invite $1 million-plus donors to the South Carolina college.

The Associated Press obtained tens of thousands of pages of e-mails and other documents that reveal the extent to which public colleges and universities have seen visits by justices as opportunities to generate donations — regularly putting justices in the room with influential donors, including some whose industries had interests before the court.

The documents also revealed that justices spanning the court’s ideological divide lent the prestige of their positions to partisan activity (headlining speaking events with prominent politicians) or advanced their own personal interests, such as sales of their books, through college visits.

The conduct would likely be prohibited if done by lower court federal judges. But the Supreme Court’s definition of banned fund-raising is so narrow — simply an event that raises more than it costs or where guests are asked for donations — that it does not account for soliciting contributors later while reminding them of the special access they were afforded.

“The justices should be aware that people are selling access to them,” said University of Virginia law professor Amanda Frost, an ethics expert. “I don’t think they are naive, but they certainly have been putting themselves in situations where people can credibly claim, ... ‘I’m going to fund-raise off my claimed closeness.’”

In a statement, the Supreme Court said: “The Court routinely asks event organizers to confirm that an event at which a Justice will speak is not a fundraiser, and it provides a definition of ‘fundraiser’ in order to avoid misunderstandings.”

Still, the revelations come at a fraught moment for the court. The court’s integrity is being questioned because of concerns about ethics abuses by justices and polarizing court rulings. A 2022 survey put trust in the court at a 50-year low, with just 18 percent expressing a great level of confidence.

At the heart of some of the questions now being raised about the court is the fact that it operates without a formal code of conduct, leaving justices with no “common reference point,” said retired federal judge Jeremy Fogel.

The scrutiny has spurred calls for an ethics code and greater transparency for justices. AP used more than 100 public records requests to obtain details including identities of donors and politicians invited to private receptions as well as about perks for trips portrayed as academic.