Should Congress create a code of conduct for Supreme Court justices?
This bill would provide a code of conduct for Supreme Court justices, and all judges involved in federal courts. This bill would also force judges to disclose gifts and income received by their offices, under the Standing Rules of the Senate and the Rules of the House of Representatives. This bill would disqualify judges from participating in cases where they have any personal involvement; such as one of the parties having lobbying contact and/or having spent funds on the appointment of the judge.
Sponsor: Representative Henry C. Johnson Jr. (Democrat, Georgia, District 4)
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How do you feel?
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Opponents say
• "Democrats want to “usurp judicial independence” and “intimidate” the conservative majority on abortion and other points of the “radical progressive agenda." Source: Representative Mike Johnson (Republican, Louisiana, District 4)
• "Democrats are trying to move legislation that burdens the Supreme Court with layers of bureaucracy. This isn’t about ethics, this is an insurance policy for them when things don’t go their way, they want to have the tools at their disposal to make life hard for the justices." Source: Representative Jim Jordan (Republican, Ohio, District 4)
Proponents say
• "This house is built on the rule of law; its foundation is fairness, transparency, and accountability. Recent events have made it disturbingly clear that without explicit enforceable rules, certain members of the high court are going to keep trying to get away with more and more until they have gotten away with our whole republic. That’s why it’s more important than ever that Congress acts. The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act is a good start." Source: Representative Henry C. Johnson Jr. (Democrat, Georgia, District 4)
• "With Americans’ trust in the Court at an all-time low, we need to act to restore faith in our judicial system. This loss of trust didn’t happen overnight but has grown out of an increasingly partisan confirmation process that started with Mitch McConnell refusing to give Merrick Garland a hearing a vote, extends to the clear conflict of interest posed by Ginni Thomas’s work and advocacy, and includes the recent leaks of the extremist anti-choice draft opinion. This bill is an important first step in restoring trust in our judicial system by imposing the type of ethics standard that should have long ago been in place." Source: Representative David Cicilline (Democrat, Rhode Island, District 1)
