(Washington, D.C.) – As public confidence in the Supreme Court falls to an all-time low, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) joined Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representative Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) in reintroducing the Supreme Court Ethics Act, requiring the Judicial Conference of the United States to create a code of ethical conduct for the Supreme Court of the United States. The legislation would also require the appointment of an Ethics Investigations Counsel and require justices to publicly disclose recusal decisions.
“Every person who steps foot in a courtroom should be able to trust that our judiciary is fair and impartial, and that those behind the bench would uphold the rule of law without any conflicts of interest. We hold each and every federal judge to this standard, so it’s time we do the same for our Supreme Court Justices,” said Senator Murray. “This bill takes commonsense measures to restore confidence in our court system by making sure those who serve on the high court abide by a code of ethics. To put it plainly, this is about transparency, and ensuring all of our jurists rule with good faith and integrity.”
The Supreme Court Ethics Act would:
- Create a statutory requirement for the Judicial Conference of the United States to issue a code of conduct that applies to the Supreme Court;
- Direct the Supreme Court to appoint an Ethics Investigations Counsel who will establish a process for the public to report information about potentially unethical conduct by the Justices and to issue a public annual report on the disposition of allegations and investigations;
- Empower the Ethics Investigations Counsel to conduct their own investigations into potential violations of the code of conduct;
- Require Justices who recuse themselves from a case to publicly disclose the reason;
- Require Justices who deny a proper motion to recuse to publicly disclose the reason.
U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) co-sponsored the legislation.
A one-pager providing further details about the bill is available here.
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