Recently, news about Justice Clarence Thomas's decades-long friendship with a wealthy Republican megadonor, and the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts and generosity he's received from that friendship, has led to increased scrutiny into whether Supreme Court justices are as unbiased and uninfluenced as they claim. It's also revealed how, unlike most other federal officials, we rely on the good faith of the justices to hold themselves accountable.

Helping us untangle this is Tonja Jacobi, professor of law and the Sam Nunn chair in Ethics and Professionalism at Emory University School of Law.

Don't miss the reporting from ProPublica on Justice Thomas's relationship with Harlan Crow, called "Friends of the Court."

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Supreme Court Ethics

Civics 101