Conflicts Of Interest: Injustice In The Justice Department

On Tuesday, media sources broke the news announcing the scandal of 131 federal judges, now law-breakers, who had overseen cases where they had a financial interest. While conflict of interest rules can carry over to journalists, lawyers and corporate executives, they are standard for state and federal employees. Overall, workers for the United States government may not take part in “personal or substantial” matters in which they have a financial interest. What happens now?

Years of ruling cases with personal interests

The Wall Street Journal took an in-depth look at the judges’ history, and it turns out “personal and substantial” financial interests have been going for years. Their investigation found the judges had improperly failed to disqualify themselves from 685 court cases around the nation since 2010. And not only that, but the jurists were appointed by nearly every president, from Lyndon Johnson to Donald J. Trump. When asked about the violations, judges offered a variety of explanations. For instance, some blamed court clerks, saying their recusal lists had misspellings that later foiled the conflict-screening software; others claimed they had a minimal role in the company share. With every excuse, however, no legal exemption for injustice within the justice department exists.

“I dropped the ball. Thank you for helping me stay on my toes the way I’m supposed to.”

- Judge Lewis Babcock, District of Colorado

What happened to the ethics code?

In a letter to a judge this month, the Judicial Conference’s Committee on Codes of Conduct said a violation of ethics is “when a judge has a financial conflict, regardless of the substance of the judge’s actual involvement, in the case.” Of the 685 court cases falsely executed, most judges in question ruled on contested motions by 21%. And of that percentage, the rulings favored the judges’ financial interests in 94 of those cases and went against judges’ interests in 27 instances, with mixed outcomes in a total of 24 cases. As a result, several parties on the losing side of the final rulings have stepped up to the plate. After hearing of the violations, many people have petitioned for a new judge to hear their case due to conflicts of interest.

The nation is now making a push for improving the justice department. “We have in place a number of safeguards and are looking for ways to improve,” the office said.

Why is this trending?

The idea of corruption within the seat of a public office prompts younger generations to call for change. With factors like news outlets and major social media sites, news of the 131 judges spread faster than ever. Even in situations involving insider trading, people have begun to recognize that corruption, of any kind, can happen with lawmakers as much as with your run-of-the-mill cutthroat CEO. Looking forward, it seems the next generation of CEOs, judges and journalists will be held to a more ethical and honest code.