# Supreme Court Ethics Act

This bill would require the nine Supreme Court justices to follow a code of ethics, something they currently aren't legally required to do. Right now, the Supreme Court has adopted an ethics code voluntarily, but there's no law forcing them to follow it, and there's no enforcement mechanism if they don't. This bill would change that by making ethics rules binding and creating a way to hold justices accountable if they break them.

The bill addresses concerns that have come up in recent years about justices' financial dealings, gifts, and potential conflicts of interest. For example, it would require justices to disclose certain financial relationships and gifts they receive, and it would establish rules about when a justice should step aside from a case because they have a personal stake in the outcome. The bill would also create a process for investigating ethics complaints against justices, something that doesn't really exist now in any meaningful way.

Who this affects most directly is the Supreme Court itself and the public's trust in it. Citizens who worry that justices might be influenced by outside interests or financial ties would see this as a way to increase transparency and accountability. The justices themselves would face new reporting requirements and potential consequences for violating ethics rules. Practically speaking, this could mean justices recusing themselves from more cases, which might change outcomes in important legal decisions. It could also mean more public information about justices' finances and relationships, allowing people to better understand potential conflicts of interest in major court decisions.

Supreme Court Ethics Act

Murphy, Christopher

Supreme Court Ethics Act This bill establishes a new statutory requirement for the Judicial Conference of the United States to issue a judicial code of conduct for judges and justices of U.S. courts, including Justices of the Supreme Court. Currently, the Judicial Conference issues a code of conduct for judges of U.S. courts (but not for Justices of the Supreme Court). To enforce the code of conduct for Justices of the Supreme Court, the bill requires the Supreme Court to appoint an ethics investigations counsel. The ethics investigations counsel must <ul type="disc"> <li>adopt rules to enforce the code of conduct, including a process to receive public complaints of potential violations;</li> <li>investigate complaints; and</li> <li>issue an annual public report describing the complaints and the steps taken to address the complaints.</li> </ul> Finally, the bill requires a Justice of the Supreme Court to publicly disclose the reasons for disqualifying himself or herself in a proceeding or the reasons for denying a motion to disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding.