The question of bias is not specific to administrative agencies and judges, of course. In January 2011, it was discovered that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had failed to disclose that his wife had received almost $700,000 in income from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that lobbies against Obamacare and promotes other conservative policies. In 2009 Mrs. Thomas also founded Liberty Central, a conservative legal group, in opposition to President Obama's policies. Common Cause, a liberal advocacy group, criticized Justice Thomas for not disclosing his wife's income, alleging that by failing to do he had violated the 1978 Ethics in Government Act. Additionally, Common Cause claimed that Justice Thomas should have recused himself from Citizens United v. Federal Elections Committee, a 2010 case in which the Court ruled against limitations on campaign contributions from corporations, because he had appeared at a political retreat organized by Charles Koch, a prominent conservative financier.
1) Do you think that either of these incidents validates the claim that Justice Thomas may have been biased when deciding certain cases?
2) In any case, do you think it is ethical for a judge to have a close personal relationship with someone like Koch, who happens to be financing a position held by many parties who appear before the Court? Explain.