$30M to Brennan Center Inspired by Supreme Court (Lack of) Ethics - LER Bonus Content No. 15 (07.24.24)
A historic gift from a donor giving to court-related ethics issues for the first time. Will others follow?
Welcome
Welcome to your fifteenth installment of bonus content from the Legal Ethics Roundup. In addition to the free weekly roundup every Monday morning, I regularly post bonus content for paid subscribers. However, for this bonus post I removed the paywall. Please feel free to share it widely with others.
Readers of the LER know that US Supreme Court ethics issues have been a constant focus. The topic recently was named Theme #1 in LER No. 51 looking back at the past year, and the last Bonus Content post contained news about the justices’ financial disclosures along with proposals for reform from Gabe Roth (Fix the Court) and Josh Blackman (South Texas).
Today’s Bonus Content announces news about Supreme Court ethics we’ve not seen here at the LER or in my career spanning nearly two decades as a legal ethics scholar. The Brennan Center for Justice (NYU) received a historic $30 million gift to address ethics issues from business executive and philanthropist Jim Kohlberg, chairman and co-founder of the private equity firm Kohlberg & Co.
From Justin Jouvenal at the Washington Post:
A business executive and philanthropist has pledged $30 million to launch a first-of-its-kind center pushing to overhaul the Supreme Court, after a series of ethics controversies and conservative rulings prompted rising scrutiny of the justices. The major gift from Jim Kohlberg … will fund research, public outreach and policy advocacy over a decade at the prominent Brennan Center for Justice, which is affiliated with New York University. ... Kohlberg, 66, a California resident, said he had no legal background and has not previously given money to court-related issues. He said he … was dismayed about what he called the court’s lack of response to recent ethics controversies, including Thomas’s refusal to recuse himself from some election-related cases after his wife pushed to overturn the results of the 2020 election. But Kohlberg, who describes himself as a moderate who has voted for Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, said a tipping point came July 1, when the justices granted former president Donald Trump — and all future presidents — broad immunity from criminal prosecution.
Read more here.
According to the Brennan Center’s press release announcing the donation, “the gift will fund the new Kohlberg Center on the U.S. Supreme Court dedicated to bringing accountability to an institution grown too powerful and out of step with public values.” Also from the press release:
“We are at a tipping point,” said Jim Kohlberg. “Without significant reform, the U.S. Supreme Court will remain unchecked, jeopardizing constitutional values and our democracy for generations. I can think of no better institution than the Brennan Center to lead the critical work ahead to hold the Supreme Court accountable.”
…
In making his long-term investment in the Brennan Center, Kohlberg challenged other philanthropists who care about democracy to join his effort to ensure the Supreme Court is accountable to the American people.
Read the full press release here.
Kolberg is right to challenge others to join him in supporting efforts aimed at ethics reform for the Supreme Court and other initiatives that will strengthen legal ethics generally. In addition to the important work by the Brennan Center, here at the LER I’ve featured other organizations focused on ethics accountability. Revisit LER No. 31 for a list.
I'll be back Monday with another Legal Ethics Roundup. Until then, thanks for reading and have a wonderful week!
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