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The head of the federal judiciary's administrative arm confirmed
the change in a letter made public on Tuesday by Democratic U.S.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who has argued for broader ethics
reforms at the Supreme Court.
"These new rules will make it much harder for justices to
travel, dine, hunt or vacation for free at the private resort of
a wealthy corporate executive – especially one with business
before their court – and avoid disclosing that information to
the public," Whitehouse said in a statement.
He and other Democrats in Congress have also introduced
legislation that would require the Supreme Court to adopt a code
of ethics, strengthen recusal standards for judges and bolster
financial disclosure requirements.
Under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, U.S. Supreme Court
justices and federal judges are required, like certain other
government officials, to complete financial disclosure reports
annually.
Congress last year passed legislation further requiring judges
to periodically file reports disclosing stock trades.
Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the
judiciary's disclosure rules had long been more relaxed than
other branches of government, particularly when it came to
defining what constituted "personal hospitality" that judges did
not have to disclose.
The new regulations took effect March 14 and were adopted by a
committee of the Judicial Conference, the judiciary's
policymaking body. They were detailed in a March 23 letter to
Whitehouse by U.S. District Judge Roslynn Mauskopf, the director
of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Under the new regulations, judges still do not have to disclose
gifts that include food, lodging or entertainment extended by an
individual for a non-business purpose.
But the regulations clarify that judges must disclose stays at
commercial properties, like hotels and resorts, and gifts of
hospitality paid for by an entity or third-party other than the
person providing it.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Scott Malone,
Cynthia Osterman and Edwina Gibbs)
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