America First Legal (AFL) has initiated legal proceedings against the Judicial Conference of the United States and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. The lawsuit, filed to challenge the blocks on lawful oversight of executive-branch functions, accuses these federal entities of ideological bias and seeks to restore accountability.
The core of the lawsuit stems from AFL's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request aimed at acquiring records pertaining to communications involving the Judicial Conference, Administrative Office, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, and Representative Hank Johnson concerning Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
AFL's FOIA request was denied by both the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office. They maintained that they are exempt from FOIA obligations as they are part of the "courts of the United States." Nonetheless, AFL’s lawsuit argues that these bodies are federal agencies, created by Congress, and therefore do not qualify as "courts" protected by FOIA's carve-out.
The lawsuit points out that these organizations carry out administrative and rulemaking activities, which are beyond the judiciary's primary role of adjudicating cases. They participate in the notice-and-comment rulemaking process, are subject to legislative oversight, and have leadership that lacks the lifetime appointments characteristic of federal judges. They can form committees, issue subpoenas, and are led by the Chief Justice acting as a "department head" — functions linked to the executive branch.
AFL argues that the refusal by these entities to comply with the FOIA request compromises the principles of transparency and accountability in governance. The organization highlights that Senator Whitehouse, who calls for stringent ethics rules for conservative judges, faces accusations of neglecting ethics standards himself.
Dan Epstein, Vice President of America First Legal, commented: “When it comes to government transparency, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. The Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts accommodated several congressional oversight requests by lawmakers intent on claiming Justices Thomas and Alito had engaged in ethical improprieties. In addition to the manner of appointments to these agencies and their other responsibilities, accommodating congressional requests — or issuing subpoenas or engaging in notice and comment rulemaking — is not the nature of the courts but of executive agencies. As such, those agencies are accountable to public disclosure through the Freedom of Information Act. Justices Thomas and Alito were targets of critics’ claims that they failed to be transparent about their financial relationships. Ironically, the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office, captured by those same critics, are now refusing to be transparent themselves.”
The lawsuit filed by America First Legal is a step toward enforcing governmental oversight and ensuring that the federal processes uphold the highest standards of accountability.