‘The Supreme Court should stand out as a beacon for equal justice and fairness—but instead it is standing out as a beacon for corruption and questionable ethics’
Following bombshell reports highlighting ethical lapses and corruption by Supreme Court Justices, End Citizens United // Let America Vote Action Fund Legal Director Chris deLaubenfels issued the following statement on the latest series of reports by the Associated Press today delving into questionable ethical practices of Supreme Court Justices. The reports detail how Justices have been used by public colleges and universities to court influential donors—some whose industries have had interests before the court. Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) announced the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act on July 20.
“The Supreme Court should stand out as a beacon for equal justice and fairness—but instead it is standing out as a beacon for corruption and questionable ethics. The fact that the actions of Supreme Court Justices would be barred for any lower court federal judge tells you everything you need to know. ‘Rules for thee but not for me’ cannot be the standard operating procedure for the highest court in the land, which has shown itself utterly incapable of self-policing or holding its Justices to even the slightest degree of ethical standards.
“The Supreme Court has left no other solution but for Congress to act. We’re grateful that the Judiciary Committee has heeded our calls and will vote on the SCERT Act next week—and it must be followed by a full vote on the Senate floor. The American people deserve nothing less.”
Details of the SCERT Act:
Create Code of Conduct and Develop a Process for Enforcement
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Require the Supreme Court to adopt a code of conduct within 180 days;
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Require the Supreme Court to publish its code of conduct and any other rules or procedures related to ethics, financial disclosure, and judicial misconduct;
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Require the Supreme Court to create a transparent process for the public to submit ethics complaints against the Justices, and for a random panel of chief judges from the lower courts to investigate and make recommendations based on those complaints.
Improve Hospitality and Financial Disclosures
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Require the Supreme Court to adopt rules requiring disclosure rules for gifts, travel, and income received by Justices and law clerks that are at least as rigorous as the House and Senate disclosure rules;
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Require greater disclosure of amicus curiae funding;
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Require parties and amici curiae before the Supreme Court to disclose any recent gifts, travel, or reimbursements they’ve given to a Justice;
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Require parties and amici curiae before the Supreme Court to disclose any lobbying or money they spent promoting a Justice’s confirmation to the Court.
Strengthen Recusal Requirements
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Create new recusal requirements governing gifts, income, or reimbursements given to judges;
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Create new recusal requirements governing a party’s lobbying or spending money to campaign for a judge’s confirmation;
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Ensure that requests for a judge to recuse are reviewed by a panel of randomly selected, impartial judges, or by the rest of the Justices at the Supreme Court;
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Require written notification and explanations of recusal decisions;
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Require the judiciary to develop rules explaining when a judge’s connection to an amicus curiae brief might require recusal; and
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Require the Federal Judicial Center to study and report to Congress every two years on the extent to which the judiciary is complying with recusal requirements.
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