Carrie Johnson, NPR; Supreme Court recusals stop music case in its tracks, strike warning note
"No quorum, because four of the nine justices recused themselves. The court did not explain why Sonia Sotomayor, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson stepped away from the case.
But the watchdog group Fix the Court has an idea: All four of those justices have book deals with Penguin Random House, part of a German conglomerate that's a party in the music copyright case.
"When you have a financial stake in a party or your finances could somehow be impacted by the outcome of a case, under federal law and the Supreme Court code of conduct, the justices are supposed to recuse," said Gabe Roth, who leads Fix the Court...
Three years ago, the Supreme Court published a code of conduct. But the long and short of it is, the justices largely police themselves.
Blackman, the law professor, said Congress should pass legislation to address the book royalties issue...
Tim Kappel is a lawyer for the songwriter in the case the court declined to hear. In a written statement, Kappel said the recusal speaks to the broad impact of copyright law and the expansive definition of what it means to be an artist."
