Court Accountability is a left-of-center advocacy organization that is led by Alex Aronson, former chief counsel for U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). ¹ It advocates for the creation of a government agency outside of the judicial branch to be responsible for investigating the Supreme Court and lower court judges for ethics violations. ²

Alex Aronson of Court Accountability accuses Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and other right-of-center justices of being responsible for corrupted rulings due to their associations with and contributions to the Federalist Society. ³

Background

Court Accountability was founded in July 2023 by Alex Aronson, who is also the organization’s executive director. ^{4 5} Aronson criticizes right-leaning members of the Supreme Court and claims that advocacy organizations are using their “billions” of dollars in funding to influence Supreme Court cases in alignment with the influence of right-of-center advocacy groups. ⁶

Court Accountability’s Alex Aronson accuses members of the Supreme Court and judiciary of failing to follow recusal laws on cases where they are allegedly influenced by their associations with nonprofit organizations, namely the Federalist Society. For this reason, it advocates for the creation of a government agency outside of the judicial branch that investigates Supreme Court Justices and lower court judges for potential ethical violations. Aronson argues that it is a conflict of interest for members of the court to be responsible for enforcing ethics policies. ⁷

Advocacy

In February 2024, Court Accountability cosigned a letter with Emancipate NC and United for Democracy, written to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin (D-IL) accusing Supreme Court justices of ethical violations and “apparent lawbreaking.” The letter accused Justice Clarence Thomas of accepting gifts under quid pro quo circumstances and failing to recuse himself from cases where there were alleged conflicts of interest. It also accuses the Judicial Conference of neglecting to enforce ethics rules for decades. ⁸

The letter goes on to describe the Justices nominated by President Donald Trump as “judicial extremists” for being affiliated with the Federalist Society and for their right-of-center positions on abortion, climate, gun rights, and election integrity. It specifically requests Senators Durbin and Schumer to investigate individuals and organizations financially tied to Supreme Court Justices. ⁹

Leadership

Alex Aronson founded Court Accountability in July 2023 and is the organization’s executive director. From January 2022 to February 2023, Aronson worked as a managing director for the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at the Georgetown Law Center. From April 2017 until January 2022, Aronson served as a chief counsel for U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) at the Senate Judiciary Committee. Prior to working for Senator Whitehouse, Aronson worked as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice and as an associate attorney for Covington and Burling. ¹⁰

1. Holmes, Jacob. “Supreme Court Experts Highlight Alabama’s Dark Money Influence Campaign.” Alabama Political Reporter, September 22, 2023. https://www.alreporter.com/2023/09/22/supreme-court-experts-highlight-alabamas-dark-money-influence-campaign/.
2. “Transcript – Fani Willis and a Tale of Two Ethics Violations.” Slate Magazine, February 17, 2024. https://slate.com/transcripts/TXV6eVQzMnFpTGltdnNCZWcvaEdTenBBNTdINVlkTThSQmc3N1dsNHJaMD0=.
3. Holmes, Jacob. “Supreme Court Experts Highlight Alabama’s Dark Money Influence Campaign.” Alabama Political Reporter, September 22, 2023. https://www.alreporter.com/2023/09/22/supreme-court-experts-highlight-alabamas-dark-money-influence-campaign/.
4.  “Alex Aronson.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-aronson-7a86293/.
5. “Transcript – Fani Willis and a Tale of Two Ethics Violations.” Slate Magazine, February 17, 2024. https://slate.com/transcripts/TXV6eVQzMnFpTGltdnNCZWcvaEdTenBBNTdINVlkTThSQmc3N1dsNHJaMD0=.
6. Holmes, Jacob. “Supreme Court Experts Highlight Alabama’s Dark Money Influence Campaign.” Alabama Political Reporter, September 22, 2023. https://www.alreporter.com/2023/09/22/supreme-court-experts-highlight-alabamas-dark-money-influence-campaign/.
7. “Transcript – Fani Willis and a Tale of Two Ethics Violations.” Slate Magazine, February 17, 2024. https://slate.com/transcripts/TXV6eVQzMnFpTGltdnNCZWcvaEdTenBBNTdINVlkTThSQmc3N1dsNHJaMD0=.
8. “It’s Time for Bold Senate Action.” Emancipate North Carolina, February 8, 2024. https://emancipatenc.org/its-time-for-bold-senate-action/
9. “It’s Time for Bold Senate Action.” Emancipate North Carolina, February 8, 2024. https://emancipatenc.org/its-time-for-bold-senate-action/.
10. “Alex Aronson.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 21, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-aronson-7a86293/.