Fix the Court

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Fix the Court is an advocacy group that seeks reform of the U.S. federal court system. The group lobbies for term limits for members of the U.S. Supreme Court, [1] for streaming live audio and video of the court's oral arguments, [2] and for publicizing potential conflicts of interest among justices. Fix the Court submitted multiple Freedom of Information Act requests related to the Supreme Court nominations of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, as well as for all 25 people that former President Donald Trump put on his shortlist of potential Supreme Court nominees. [3]

When Brett Kavanaugh was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, Fix the Court bought several Internet domain names related to Kavanaugh and redirected them to websites including End Rape On Campus, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, and the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. Fix the Court's executive director, Gabe Roth, said he purchased and redirected the websites because he believed the sexual assault allegations made by Christine Blasey Ford against Brett Kavanaugh and by Anita Hill against Clarence Thomas. [4] [5]

Fix the Court was initially funded by the New Venture Fund. [6] Since February 2021, Fix the Court has been registered with the Internal Revenue Service as an 501(c)(3) nonprofit. [7] [8]

The Washington Examiner reported in 2023 that Fix the Court had filed tax form 990-N (e-postcard) for the tax period 2021. When the Examiner asked Roth for the group's financial disclosures, he inadvertently included their donor list, which he did not have to disclose to the public, and said he had mailed form 990 to the IRS. [9] The Washington Examiner reported later in 2023 that Fix the Court may have failed to disclose lobbying in 2021 and 2022 on tax forms and was accused by conservative watchdog group National Legal and Policy Center in an IRS complaint of violating federal law. [10]

Roth said on a podcast in 2023 that he had "been corrected" on not disclosing lobbying and Fix the Court updated its financial disclosures to reflect the grassroots lobbying. [11] [12]

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References

  1. ↑ Ingraham, Christopher (February 13, 2016). "Why it's time to get serious about Supreme Court term limits". Washington Post. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  2. ↑ Wolf, Richard (April 30, 2020). "Supreme Court makes historic change to hear oral arguments over the phone and stream them live". USA Today. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  3. ↑ Mencimer, Stephanie (July 18, 2018). "Judicial Watchdogs Are in Court to Make Brett Kavanaugh's Entire Record Public". Mother Jones. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Black, Shelby (October 10, 2018). "Fix The Court Bought Brett Kavanaugh's Name As A Website To Help Sexual Assault Survivors". Elite Daily. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  5. ↑ Lieu, Johnny (October 10, 2018). "Someone bought BrettKavanaugh.com, which links to sexual assault survivor resources". Mashable. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  6. ↑ Wolf, Richard (November 12, 2014). "At Supreme Court, secretiveness attracts snoops". USA Today. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  7. ↑ "IRS Determination Letter". IRS.gov. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Why doesn't the Supreme Court have a formal code of ethics?". Poynter.
  9. ↑ Kaminsky, Gabe (May 17, 2023). "Supreme Court 'transparency' charity director panics over IRS donor leak: 'I just f***ed up'". The Washington Examiner . Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  10. ↑ Kaminsky, Gabe (July 27, 2023). "Supreme Court 'ethics' group likely failed to disclose lobbying, experts say". The Washington Examiner . Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  11. ↑ Kaminsky, Gabe (2023-08-24). "Supreme Court 'ethics' activist admits lobbying disclosure failure: 'I have been corrected' - Washington Examiner" . Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  12. ↑ Lat, David (2023-08-23). "Fixing The Court: An Interview With Gabe Roth". Original Jurisdiction. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
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