Recusals
— Justice Kagan failed to recuse in 15–1204, Jennings v. Rodriguez, despite her previous work on the case; missed recusal on 11/30/16 (argued) and 10/3/17 (reargued); reported and recused on 11/10/17.
— Justice Kagan failed to recuse in 19-720, U.S. v. Briones, Jr., a juvenile life sentence case remanded to the Ninth Circuit on 5/3/21 in light of the Court’s ruling in Jones v. Mississippi the previous month. Kagan previously participated in an earlier version of this case, 09-1044, Briones and Briones, Jr., v. U.S., when she was U.S. solicitor general. @FedJudges identified this error on Twitter, and FTC e-mailed the SCOTUS clerk on 5/6/21. That afternoon, the Court noted the error in a letter to the 19-720 litigants.
Source: Fix the Court
Ethical Lapses
— Did not recuse from several Obamacare merits cases — including 11-393, NFIB v. Sebelius; 14-114, King v. Burwell; 19–840, California v. Texas — even though she was the U.S. solicitor general at the time the White House and her office were crafting the legal defense of the law. (2011, 2014 and 2020)
— Initially did not recuse in the (argued and reargued) merits case 15–1204, Jennings v. Rodriguez, despite her previous work on the case when U.S. solicitor general. Stepped aside when the error was brought to her attention. (2016-2017)
— A speech she gave at the University of Wisconsin Law School was part of its Dean’s Summit, which is an annual gathering for those who pledge to donate at least $1,000 per year to the school. Although she reported in her disclosure that she received free “transportation, hotels, meals,” she did not report as a gift her free ticket to a Wisconsin-FAU football game, where she sat in the Chancellor’s Box. (2017)
— Nothing wrong with justices voting but per voter roll reviews in Feb. 2020 and Apr. 2022 was registered as a Democrat. (2020-2022)
— Initially did not recuse in 19-720, U.S. v. Briones, Jr., a case that was remanded to the Ninth Circuit, even though she had previously participated in an earlier version of this case. (2021)
Source: Fix the Court (PDF)