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Kagan told a judicial conference in Sacramento, California, she
would be supportive if Chief Justice John Roberts formed “some
sort of committee of highly respected judges with a great deal
of experience and a reputation for fairness” to assess potential
violations of the code, according to Bloomberg Law.
The Supreme Court in November adopted its first code of conduct
amid a swirl of ethics scrutiny. Critics have said the code does
not go far enough, as it allows justices to decide for
themselves whether to recuse from cases and provides no
mechanism of enforcement.
Kagan said criticism about the code's lack of enforcement
procedures was fair.
“Rules usually have enforcement mechanisms attached to them, and
this one, this set of rules, does not,” Kagan said, according to
the Washington Post, adding that “however hard it is, we could
and should try to figure out some mechanism for doing this.”
The event's organizers and a court spokesperson did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some justices have faced ethics scrutiny for actions away from
the bench, including reports that flags associated with
then-President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020
election loss flew outside Justice Samuel Alito's homes in
Virginia and New Jersey, and revelations about Justice Clarence
Thomas accepting undisclosed travel from a wealthy benefactor.
(Reporting by John Kruzel; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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