Subject: Re: [EL] Caperton, Citizens United, & Clarence Thomas
From: "Smith, Brad" <BSmith@law.capital.edu>
Date: 2/15/2011, 9:21 PM
To: Scott Rafferty
CC: "election-law@mailman.lls.edu" <election-law@mailman.lls.edu>

So are you saying that by making the complaint public, Zeese has violated ethics rules?
 
Also, does it violate any rule to misrepresent the facts in an ethics complaint? ("This case overturned a hundred years of established campaign finance law.")
 
Bradley A. Smith
Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Designated Professor of Law
Capital University Law School
303 E. Broad St.
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 236-6317
http://www.law.capital.edu/Faculty/Bios/bsmith.asp

From: election-law-bounces@mailman.lls.edu on behalf of Scott Rafferty
Sent: Tue 2/15/2011 8:43 PM
To: Sean Parnell
Cc: election-law@mailman.lls.edu
Subject: Re: [EL] Caperton, Citizens United, & Clarence Thomas

D.C. Bar counsel claims that it is a violation of its rules for either the complainant or the complainee to disclose the existence of a bar complaint.  It's nice to think that their interpretation is designed to protect lawyers less powerful than Justice Thomas from the stigma of complaints filed solely for publicity (with the clear understanding that Bar Counsel will never take public action to exonerate an unjustly accused attorney).

Publicizing a bar complaint against a Supreme Court justice is a wise choice compared to the alternative of publicizing a complaint of judicial misconduct.  Those rules threaten the possibility of criminal prosecution against citizens who publicize the existence of their own complaint.

A complaint to the District of Columbia Bar may not be effective in this case, however.  Justice Thomas, unlike most of his Brethren, does not maintain his complimentary judicial membership.



I
Scott Rafferty
4730 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20016
 mobile 202-380-5525


On 15 February 2011 11:00, Sean Parnell <sparnell@campaignfreedom.org> wrote:

The, ah, hysteria over Clarence Thomas and Citizens United has just gotten more hysterical, with a Caperton angle now. http://www.velvetrevolution.us/images/Clarence_Thomas_Bar_Supplement.pdf

 

Can’t remember if this scenario was one of the 43 (?) questions that Chief Justice Roberts raised in his dissent.

 

Sean Parnell

President

Center for Competitive Politics

http://www.campaignfreedom.org

http://www.twitter.com/seanparnellccp

124 S. West Street, #201

Alexandria, VA  22310

(703) 894-6800 phone

(703) 894-6813 direct

(703) 894-6811 fax

 


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