Accountable.US and Rep. Johnson Call For Justice Thomas’ Recusal in Religious Charter School Case After New Research Reveals Close Ties to Key Advocate

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Today, Accountable.US called on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from the upcoming case Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond following a new report from the watchdog group that uncovered extensive personal ties between Thomas and Nicole Stelle Garnett, a Federalist Society director and key legal advocate behind the case. In a formal letter to Chief Justice John Roberts, Accountable.US urged Thomas to step aside, warning that his continued involvement would only deepen public concern about fairness and trust in the Court.

The letter outlines Justice Thomas’s longstanding personal and professional relationship with Nicole Stelle Garnett, who advised the proposed Catholic school at the heart of this case prior to its lawsuit and is still a faculty fellow at the Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Clinic, which is serving as counsel to one of the petitioners. The letter also highlights that Garnett has publicly referred to Thomas as a “mentor, teacher, friend—and hero” and has hosted him and his wife in her home. Garnett’s husband has also co-taught seminars with Thomas.

“Justice Thomas has a blatant and quite obvious connection to one of the petitioners’ counsels in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, and the proposed school at the center of the case, through his personal and professional relationship with Garnett, which raises serious questions as to his ability to be fair and impartial in deciding this monumental case pending before the Court,” said Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04), ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee over courts. “Justice Barrett also has a close relationship with Garnett and recused herself, and Justice Thomas should do the same. Justice Thomas should not be the sole decider on whether he should recuse, which is why there should be a binding and enforceable code of conduct for the Supreme Court. Americans need to have confidence that justices are being held to the same ethical standards that bind lower court judges.”

“This is exactly the kind of situation the recusal law was written for,” said Caroline Ciccone, president of Accountable.US. “When someone that close to you is at the heart of a case, you don’t get to weigh in. Justice Thomas shouldn’t be anywhere near this decision.”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a longtime friend of Garnett’s, has already recused herself from the case. But Thomas, despite his even more enduring connection to Garnett, has not. Under federal law and the Supreme Court’s code of conduct, justices should recuse themselves when their impartiality might reasonably be questioned. 

The case, Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, could have a major impact on public education and the separation of church and state. At its core, it asks whether a religious group can run a charter school that’s funded with taxpayer money. If the Court says yes, it could set a nationwide precedent—allowing publicly funded religious schools to open across the country and blurring the line between religion and government in our education system.

“This case isn’t happening in a vacuum,” added Ciccone. “It’s part of a broader strategy by the far-right—and Justice Thomas is personally connected to the people pushing it. He has no business ruling on this case.”

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