Under fire, US Supreme Court unveils ethics code for justices
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[November 14, 2023]
By Andrew Chung and John Kruzel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday announced its
first formal code of conduct governing the ethical behavior of its nine
justices, bowing to months of outside pressure over revelations of
undisclosed luxury trips and hobnobbing with wealthy benefactors.
The new code drew mixed reviews, with some critics noting the apparent
absence of any enforcement mechanism. It was adopted after a series of
media reports detailing ethics questions surrounding some Supreme Court
members, in particular conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, even as
Senate Democrats pursued long-shot legislation to mandate an ethics code
for the nation's top judicial body.
The nine-page code contains sections codifying that justices should not
let outside relationships influence their official conduct or judgment,
spelling out restrictions on their participation in fundraising and
reiterating limits on the accepting of gifts. It also states that
justices should not "to any substantial degree" use judicial resources
or staff for non-official activities.
A commentary released with the code elaborating on some of its
provisions said that justices who are weighing a speaking engagement
should "consider whether doing so would create an appearance of
impropriety in the minds of reasonable members of the public."
Unlike other members of the federal judiciary, the Supreme Court's
life-tenured justices had long acted with no binding ethics code. That
absence, the court said in a statement accompanying the code, had led
some to believe that the justices "regard themselves as unrestricted by
any ethics rules."
"To dispel this misunderstanding, we are issuing this code, which
largely represents a codification of principles that we have long
regarded as governing our conduct," the statement said.
The court has been buffeted for months by revelations regarding justices
over undisclosed trips on private jets, luxury vacations, real estate
and recreational vehicle deals, and more.
Senator Dick Durbin, who chairs the Democratic-led Senate Judiciary
Committee, called the code a "step in the right direction." But Durbin
held open the possibility of further legislative efforts if he
determines the code falls short of "the ethical standards which other
federal judges are held to."
"We are going to carefully review this proposed code of conduct to
evaluate whether it complies with our goal that the highest court in the
land not languish with the lowest standard of ethics in our federal
government," Durbin said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, called the code "an
important first step."
"However, the lack of any way to enforce the code of conduct should any
justice decide to ignore it is a glaring omission," Schumer said.
Carrie Severino, a former law clerk to Thomas who heads the conservative
Judicial Crisis Network, said she doubts the code will satisfy Senate
Democrats, alleging that the real purpose of their focus on the ethics
issue has been to intimidate a court that they despise "for being
faithful to the Constitution."
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The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen on the day that Justices
Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito released their delayed financial
disclosure reports and the reports were made public in Washington,
U.S., August 31, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Wurm/File Photo
The ethics drum beat added pressure to a court already facing
declining public approval following major rulings in its past two
terms powered by its 6-3 conservative majority. The court ended its
recognition of a constitutional right to abortion, expanded gun
rights and rejected affirmative action collegiate admissions
policies often used to increase Black and Hispanic student
enrollment.
'PUBLIC DEMAND'
Northwestern University legal ethics expert Steven Lubet said the
code "answers a public demand in a very respectful and thorough
way." But Lubet noted shortcomings, including the court's
reiteration that the justices will decide for themselves whether to
recuse from a case.
"Nobody should be the sole determiner of their own biases, but they
maintain that," Lubet added.
Indiana University legal ethics expert Charles Geyh said of the
court: "What remains to be seen is whether this is a one-off,
designed to get Congress and the media off its back, or the start of
a more meaningful effort to embrace the code on a deeper level, by
working with it, thinking about it, applying it and revising it as
other courts have."
News outlet ProPublica detailed luxury trips by Thomas that were
provided by Texas businessman Harlan Crow as well as real estate
transactions involving the justice and the billionaire Republican
donor. A report by Senate Democrats found that Thomas apparently
failed to repay at least a "significant portion" of a $267,230 loan
from longtime friend Anthony Welters to buy a luxury motor coach.
ProPublica also detailed an undisclosed 2008 flight that
conservative Justice Samuel Alito took on a private jet provided by
billionaire hedge fund founder Paul Singer for a luxury fishing trip
in Alaska.
Other media reports have detailed a real estate transaction
involving conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch and the chief executive
of a major law firm, as well as aides promoting sales of books by
liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor in conjunction with her public
speaking events.
(Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)
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