Many federal judges failed to fully disclose the extent of their free luxury travel to judicial conferences, which is required by internal judiciary rules and federal ethics law, NPR reports. Federal judges, occasionally with family members, traveled to luxury resorts in locations as far-flung as London; Palm Beach, Fla.; Bar Harbor, Maine; and the outskirts of Yellowstone National Park for weeklong seminars. The judges received free rooms, free meals and free money toward travel expenses, together worth a few thousand dollars. For almost two decades, the federal judiciary has recognized that the combination of apparent luxury and ideological content can present the appearance of undue influence on the courts. In response, the judiciary has required more transparency in the form of public disclosure.
An NPR investigation found that the disclosure systems often fail to give the public timely information about the outside benefits that judges receive and from whom. As a result, judicial ethics experts say, people with cases before these judges lack important information about a judge's potential biases. That information, if received in time, could be used to request that a judge recuse from a particular case. "It also matters to the public, even if someone never shows up in a courtroom, to believe in the integrity of our judiciary and to trust in the decisions that are issued by judges," said Renee Knake Jefferson, a professor at the University of Houston Law Center. "Having disclosures of judicial financial interests goes directly to the public having confidence in the outcomes of the decisions — that they are free of any bias or influence." Many judges defend these events as helpful forums to discuss important issues, and they reject criticism that a stay at a fancy hotel could influence their decisions. Critics call them "junkets" and glorified vacations that reward ideological allies. In nearly 40 instances, judges attended events at luxury resorts but failed to properly file a report within 30 days. In fact, the forms were uploaded months or even years late and only after NPR began asking questions. In 13 cases, NPR found that judges failed to declare the benefits they received on their annual financial disclosure forms.