As state supreme courts consolidate power and corporate money, shoddy oversight allows justices to hide their financial conflicts of interest from the public.
by Katya Schwenk, The Lever
In Arizona, a deep-pocketed anti-abortion group has been wining and dining a lawmaker who may be a deciding vote on a new effort to repeal the state’s draconian abortion ban — and the senator might have been accompanied by her husband, an Arizona Supreme Court justice who ruled earlier this month that the ban could take effect.
But the public doesn’t know for sure whether the justice attended the meals, because Arizona law doesn’t require justices to disclose gifts that don’t add up to more than $500 a year, even if these perks could have a direct bearing on cases they are deciding.

As the U.S. Supreme Court rolls back long-standing federal protections, leaving such matters to the states, judicial watchdog groups say they are increasingly concerned about ballooning special-interest money influencing state justices. Now a new report has found that thanks to weak financial disclosure laws, many state justices do not have to disclose gifts and perks that they or their spouses receive that could influence their increasingly momentous decisions on issues like abortion rights.
On the federal level, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s refusal to disclose lavish gifts, real estate deals, and travel perks from a billionaire benefactor with a vested interest in cases that came before the high court almost certainly violated federal disclosure laws.
Recent Posts
The Terrorists Are Running The U.S. Government
April 18, 2025
Take Action Now Trump seems like a random spasmodic imbecile, but what we are seeing is an extension of the ongoing, centuries-long shifting of power…
Elon Musk Decimated The Government And Saved Almost Nothing
April 18, 2025
Take Action Now Elon Musk’s cuts may have “saved” the public less than half a percent of the national debt, but they are already making Americans…
Will Corporate Media Call Out A Constitutional Crisis?
April 17, 2025
Take Action Now Corporate media is failing to rise to the moment and give an honest accounting of the damage being done to our Democracy.By Ari…
‘We Had To Fight’: Jamaal Bowman And Cori Bush Talk AIPAC
April 17, 2025
Take Action Now The two former members of Congress pull back the curtain on US politics to discuss lobbying, corruption, and more.By Team Zeteo,…