The Supreme Court Needs the Judicial Reforms We Champion For Everyone Else

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s gifts from a billionaire far surpass the level of bribes that for decades have sparked U.S. calls for judicial reforms overseas.

Applying the U.S.’s blueprints for judicial reforms, which scholarship shows helps nations prosper and democratize, to its own high court could clean up its mess.

Since April, news accounts have revealed that Thomas has received close to $2 million from real estate magnate Harlan Crow. The gifts include a $500,000 trip to Indonesia, a $500,000 donation to the Liberty Consulting firm owned by his wife (which paid her a $120,000 salary), $2,250 a night trips for 20 years to Crow’s Topridge resort, $350,000 total for five trips in Crow’s private jet (at $70,000 each), $150,000 for tuition fees of Thomas’ nephew and $93,000 to buy his house above market value. This does not include an extended cruise in New Zealand (for which there is no estimate) nor the payments from conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo to Clarence Thomas’s wife for consulting work, specifying that her name be left off billing…