Ethics code can restore trust

Since its inception, the Supreme Court has been the highly revered institution that interprets the constitutionality of our laws.

Presidentially nominated and Senate-confirmed justices are placed on the bench to make decisions without personal prejudice, bias or reward.

Confirmation hearings to weed out the unqualified and unworthy are quite bruising. Those who reach the bench lick their wounds and embrace their responsibilities with seriousness.

That all changed with the highly contested confirmation of grievance-ridden Clarence Thomas. His bruises have never healed. As one bad apple spoils the whole barrel, Thomas’ influence on the other eight justices has begun to take its toll.

The equally thin-skinned Justice Samuel Alito seems to have been the first to contract the malignancy. We must hope the remaining justices can avoid the “conflicts” contagion.

White billionaires — some with business coming before the court — clamor to become your a justice’s best friend and lavish them with expensive gifts, many of which have gone undisclosed.

Thus befriended, Thomas’ votes have gone beyond having the appearance of impropriety, they are blatant conflicts of interest. The court needs an enforceable code of ethics, and needs it soon. All constitutionally patriotic Americans want corruption rooted out, and trust in the court restored.