Alito: Congress can't impose ethics code on Supreme Court
1 year, 4 months ago

Alito: Congress can't impose ethics code on Supreme Court

LA Times  

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. is the only Supreme Court member to publicly address proposals in Congress on ethics rules. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. says Congress lacks the power to impose a code of ethics on the Supreme Court, making him the first member of the court to take a public stand against proposals in Congress to toughen ethics rules for justices in response to increased scrutiny of their activities beyond the bench. No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court — period,” Alito said in an interview he gave to the Wall Street Journal opinion pages. Democrats last week pushed Supreme Court ethics legislation through a Senate committee, though the bill’s prospects in the full Senate are dim.

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History of this topic

Senate review of Supreme Court ethics finds more luxury trips and urges enforceable code of conduct
Trending News
3 days, 8 hours ago

Senate review of Supreme Court ethics finds more luxury trips and urges enforceable code of conduct

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — A nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of Supreme Court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas and urges Congress to establish a way to enforce a new code of conduct. The 93-page report released Saturday by the Democratic majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee found additional travel taken in 2021 by Thomas but not reported …

‘An ethical crisis of its own making’: Democrats blast Supreme Court ethics
3 days, 20 hours ago

‘An ethical crisis of its own making’: Democrats blast Supreme Court ethics

Al Jazeera  

In a new report, Democrats on the US Senate Judiciary Committee call out alleged ethical lapses among high court justices. A report from Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee has detailed new allegations about the “lavish gifts” justices on the United States Supreme Court received from donors. In their report, the Democrats slammed the Supreme Court’s chief justice, conservative John …

Senate Democrats render a verdict on Supreme Court ethics
3 days, 20 hours ago

Senate Democrats render a verdict on Supreme Court ethics

Politico  

Many of the trips, including one Thomas and his wife Ginni Thomas took by yacht and private jet in Indonesia in 2019 as a guest of billionaire developer Harlan Crow, were unearthed by ProPublica last year. “To date, the Judicial Conference has failed to adequately respond to the Supreme Court’s ethical crisis,” the report says. While the Senate report’s main …

Ketanji Brown Jackson Is 'Considering Supporting' An Enforceable Supreme Court Code Of Ethics
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Ketanji Brown Jackson Is 'Considering Supporting' An Enforceable Supreme Court Code Of Ethics

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson recently said she is leaning in favor of a binding code of ethics for the Supreme Court. “A binding code of ethics is pretty standard for judges, and so I guess the question is, ‘Is the Supreme Court any different?’” Jackson said in a “CBS News Sunday Morning” interview with “CBS …

Editorial: Supreme Court term limits and ethics reforms aren’t just good for Democrats
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Editorial: Supreme Court term limits and ethics reforms aren’t just good for Democrats

LA Times  

President Biden’s Supreme Court reforms, including term limits for justices, are sensible and benefit both parties, but they aren’t getting bipartisan support. In an initiative endorsed by Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Biden proposed three changes: term limits for members of the Supreme Court, who now serve until they choose to retire; a binding and enforceable …

Biden proposed enforceable ethics code and term limits for Supreme Court. How might they work?
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Biden proposed enforceable ethics code and term limits for Supreme Court. How might they work?

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday proposed major changes for the U.S. Supreme Court: an enforceable code of ethics, term limits for justices and a constitutional amendment that would limit the justices’ recent decision on presidential immunity. There are ideas about how to impose term limits without an amendment — but if such a law passed and were challenged …

‘Rules usually have enforcement mechanisms’: Supreme Court justice seeks ethics panel
4 months, 4 weeks ago

‘Rules usually have enforcement mechanisms’: Supreme Court justice seeks ethics panel

Raw Story  

Justice Elena Kagan wants to see the Supreme Court appoint an ethics enforcement committee following controversies surrounding conflicts posed by lavish trips bankrolled for Justice Clarence Thomas. During a Thursday conference, Kagan suggested to Chief Justice John Roberts that the court appoint “some sort of committee of highly respected judges with a great deal of experience and a reputation for …

Justice Kagan says there needs to be a way to enforce the US Supreme Court’s new ethics code
4 months, 4 weeks ago

Justice Kagan says there needs to be a way to enforce the US Supreme Court’s new ethics code

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Justice Elena Kagan on Thursday became the first member of the U.S. Supreme Court to call publicly for beefing up its new ethics code by adding a way to enforce it. In her first public remarks since the nation’s highest court wrapped up its term earlier this month, Kagan said she wouldn’t have signed onto the new …

John Roberts Rejects Senators' Request To Discuss Samuel Alito’s Flag Scandal
6 months, 3 weeks ago

John Roberts Rejects Senators' Request To Discuss Samuel Alito’s Flag Scandal

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday rejected Senate Democrats’ request to meet to discuss the Supreme Court ethics firestorm surrounding Justice Samuel Alito. “Moreover, the format proposed ― a meeting with leaders of only one party who have expressed an interest in matters currently pending before the Court ― simply underscores that participating in such a meeting …

Chief Justice Roberts rejects Senate Democrats' request to discuss SCOTUS ethics and Alito flag controversy
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Chief Justice Roberts rejects Senate Democrats' request to discuss SCOTUS ethics and Alito flag controversy

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday declined an invitation to meet with Democratic senators to talk about Supreme Court ethics and the controversy over flags that flew outside homes owned by Justice Samuel Alito. Roberts’ response came in a letter to the senators a day after Alito separately wrote them and House members to reject their demands that …

Roberts rejects Senate Democrats’ request to discuss Supreme Court ethics, Alito controversy
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Roberts rejects Senate Democrats’ request to discuss Supreme Court ethics, Alito controversy

LA Times  

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Thursday declined an invitation to meet with Democratic senators to talk about Supreme Court ethics and the controversy over flags that flew outside homes owned by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Roberts’ response came in a letter to the senators a day after Alito separately wrote them and House members to reject their …

House Dems Ask John Roberts If Sam Alito's Flag Mess Violated The Court's Ethics Rules
6 months, 3 weeks ago

House Dems Ask John Roberts If Sam Alito's Flag Mess Violated The Court's Ethics Rules

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING WASHINGTON ― Democrats on the House judiciary committee on Wednesday asked Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to weigh in on whether Justice Samuel Alito violated the court’s code of ethics when he flew flags at two separate residences that were the same as those carried by insurrectionists who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. …

“Compromised beyond measure”: Experts urge Senate to pass SCOTUS ethics code amid Alito flag debacle
7 months ago

“Compromised beyond measure”: Experts urge Senate to pass SCOTUS ethics code amid Alito flag debacle

Salon  

A prominent legal expert says Senate passage of Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s bill to require the Supreme Court to adopt a stronger ethics code could send a powerful message – even if its passage through the current House of Representatives is a likely impossibility. And, you know, if Justice Alito doesn't want Congress to impose an enforcement mechanism, he and Justice …

Editorial: Supreme Court’s new ethics code falls short in solving its ethics problem
1 year, 1 month ago

Editorial: Supreme Court’s new ethics code falls short in solving its ethics problem

LA Times  

The U.S. Supreme Court justices have adopted a code of conduct designed to assure Americans that they will behave ethically. Now, after embarrassing news reports about questionable conduct by some justices, it finally has brought forth a document designed to dispel “the misunderstanding that the justices of this court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted …

Supreme Court cowards are hiding behind a hollow ethics code. Here’s how to fix that.
1 year, 1 month ago

Supreme Court cowards are hiding behind a hollow ethics code. Here’s how to fix that.

Raw Story  

Justice Samuel Alito claims Congress has no power to impose an ethics code on the Supreme Court. Justices Alito and Thomas don’t just “regard themselves as unrestricted” by ethics, they have so egregiously violated the rules of fair play they shouldn’t be allowed to serve. Thomas luxuriates in a conservative donor’s uber-wealth Gifts lavished on Thomas and his crusading wife, …

US Supreme Court announces new code of ethics for justices
1 year, 1 month ago

US Supreme Court announces new code of ethics for justices

Al Jazeera  

The code, which appears to lack an enforcement mechanism, was adopted after media reports detailed ethics questions surrounding some Supreme Court members. The Supreme Court of the United States has announced its first formal code of ethics governing the conduct of its nine justices, following months of outside pressure over revelations of undisclosed luxury trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors. …

Opinion: The Supreme Court finally has a code of ethics, but it has a fatal flaw
1 year, 1 month ago

Opinion: The Supreme Court finally has a code of ethics, but it has a fatal flaw

LA Times  

Revelations about Justice Clarence Thomas have highlighted the need for justices to be recused when they have conflicts of interest. Although it is welcome and overdue that the Supreme Court finally adopted an ethics code for its justices on Monday, the approach is seriously flawed in that it includes no enforcement mechanism. Until Monday, every judge in the country — …

The Supreme Court says it is adopting a code of ethics, but it has no means of enforcement
1 year, 1 month ago

The Supreme Court says it is adopting a code of ethics, but it has no means of enforcement

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday adopted its first code of ethics, in the face of sustained criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices, but the code lacks a means of enforcement. “To dispel this misunderstanding, we are issuing this Code, which largely represents a codification of principles that we have long regarded as …

The Supreme Court is now adopting a code of ethics for justices
1 year, 1 month ago

The Supreme Court is now adopting a code of ethics for justices

NPR  

The Supreme Court is now adopting a code of ethics for justices The U.S. Supreme Court is adopting a code of ethics for its justices — a first — amid mounting criticism of gifts and trips from wealthy benefactors to certain justices. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: For the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court is adopting a code of ethics for …

Justice Barrett expresses support for a formal US Supreme Court ethics code in Minnesota speech
1 year, 2 months ago

Justice Barrett expresses support for a formal US Supreme Court ethics code in Minnesota speech

Associated Press  

MINNEAPOLIS — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett said Monday that it would be a good idea for the nation’s highest court to adopt a formal code of conduct, but she said the nine justices already agree that they should hold themselves to the highest ethical standards possible. “I will say this, there is no lack of consensus among …

Justice Alito rejects Senate Democrats' call to step aside from an upcoming Supreme Court case
1 year, 3 months ago

Justice Alito rejects Senate Democrats' call to step aside from an upcoming Supreme Court case

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Justice …

Justice Alito rejects Senate Democrats’ call to step aside from an upcoming Supreme Court case
1 year, 3 months ago

Justice Alito rejects Senate Democrats’ call to step aside from an upcoming Supreme Court case

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Justice Samuel Alito on Friday rejected demands from Senate Democrats that he step aside from an upcoming Supreme Court case because of his interactions with one of the lawyers, in a fresh demonstration of tensions over ethical issues. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have been highly critical of Alito and the rest of the court for failing …

Justice Kagan supports ethics code but says Supreme Court divided on how to proceed
1 year, 4 months ago

Justice Kagan supports ethics code but says Supreme Court divided on how to proceed

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Ore. — Justice Elena Kagan publicly declared her support for an ethics code for the U.S. Supreme Court but said there was no consensus among the justices on how to proceed, suggesting the high court is grappling with public concerns over its ethics practices. Her comments put her at odds with her fellow court member Justice Samuel Alito, who …

Chris Murphy Blasts Samuel Alito For Criticizing Congress Over Supreme Court Reform Efforts
1 year, 4 months ago

Chris Murphy Blasts Samuel Alito For Criticizing Congress Over Supreme Court Reform Efforts

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Sen. Chris Murphy blasted conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Sunday for claiming that Congress has no authority to create a code of conduct for the high court, which has been embroiled in ethics controversies. “No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court ― period,” Alito said of the lawmakers. …

Justice Alito says Congress lacks the power to impose an ethics code on the Supreme Court
1 year, 4 months ago

Justice Alito says Congress lacks the power to impose an ethics code on the Supreme Court

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Justice Samuel Alito says Congress lacks the power to impose a code of ethics on the Supreme Court, making him the first member of the court to take a public stand against proposals in Congress to toughen ethics rules for justices in response to increased scrutiny of their activities beyond the bench. Democrats last week pushed Supreme Court …

Senate committee approves legislation to impose stronger ethics standards on Supreme Court justices
1 year, 5 months ago

Senate committee approves legislation to impose stronger ethics standards on Supreme Court justices

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court would have to abide by stronger ethics standards under legislation approved on Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, a response to recent revelations about donor-funded trips by justices. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said the legislation would be a “crucial first step” in restoring confidence in the court. The legislation would mandate a new …

Senators call for Supreme Court to follow ethics code like other branches of government
1 year, 5 months ago

Senators call for Supreme Court to follow ethics code like other branches of government

Associated Press  

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responding to Associated Press investigative stories on the Supreme Court, said Tuesday it was time for the justices to bring their conduct in line with the ethical standards of other branches of government. The nation’s highest court operates without an ethics code, instead following what Chief Justice John Roberts has referred to as …

How Do We Impose Ethical Standards On A Supreme Court That Has None?
1 year, 7 months ago

How Do We Impose Ethical Standards On A Supreme Court That Has None?

Huff Post  

The phrase is Latin in origin, used to admit that one has made a mistake or done something wrong, particularly if it could have been prevented. I wish those caustic words weren’t true, but when I look at this court, and when I look at the entirety of our government, ethics, the simple and common-sense principle of “just do the …

Will the Supreme Court have to answer to ethics rules? Lawmakers ask ‘how low can the court go?’
1 year, 7 months ago

Will the Supreme Court have to answer to ethics rules? Lawmakers ask ‘how low can the court go?’

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Republican lawmakers – who have supported a years-long …

Editorial: The Supreme Court needs ethics reform. That shouldn’t be a partisan issue
1 year, 7 months ago

Editorial: The Supreme Court needs ethics reform. That shouldn’t be a partisan issue

LA Times  

Thanks to recent reports about financial and personal dealings by members of the Supreme Court — including lavish trips bestowed upon Justice Clarence Thomas by a friend and prominent Republican donor — the public has become aware of a troubling fact: Unlike other federal judges, justices aren’t bound by the Code of Conduct for United States Judges. Fortunately, there is …

Column: The Supreme Court rejects ethics oversight. Can anything change that?
1 year, 7 months ago

Column: The Supreme Court rejects ethics oversight. Can anything change that?

LA Times  

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas: Even if he’s found to have breached ethics rules, what can anyone do about it? “That reality is driving a crisis in public confidence in the Supreme Court.” The debate about imposing an explicit code of conduct on the Supreme Court has foundered on a constitutional shoal — specifically, whether Congress could promulgate a code …

US lawmakers hold hearing on Supreme Court ethics concerns
1 year, 7 months ago

US lawmakers hold hearing on Supreme Court ethics concerns

Al Jazeera  

The hearing comes in the wake of several reports detailing the failure by justices to report possible conflicts of interest. US Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, a Democrat, said he had called the hearing on Tuesday because the Supreme Court has for years “refused” to “step up and fix this themselves”. Zhou-Castro said that, unlike other federal judges, “the …

Congress has clashed with Supreme Court justices over ethics in the past
1 year, 8 months ago

Congress has clashed with Supreme Court justices over ethics in the past

NPR  

Congress has clashed with Supreme Court justices over ethics in the past Enlarge this image toggle caption Jacquelyn Martin/AP Jacquelyn Martin/AP When Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin this week asked the chief justice of the Supreme Court to give the committee an update on the ethics of the court, he spoke of "a steady stream of revelations regarding Justices falling …

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas: What could Congress do to hold him accountable?
1 year, 8 months ago

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas: What could Congress do to hold him accountable?

Slate  

After two ProPublica investigations revealed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas may have been quietly violating federal disclosure law for over 20 years, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts urging him to investigate the matter quickly—or they would have to “consider legislation to resolve it.” For decades, Thomas has been accepting luxury vacations, including …

Supreme Court under fresh pressure to adopt code of ethics
1 year, 10 months ago

Supreme Court under fresh pressure to adopt code of ethics

CNN  

Washington CNN — For decades, Supreme Court justices have dodged questions related to conflicts of interest by saying essentially “Trust us” or “We’re different.” They’ve refused to be bound by an official ethics code and grievance procedures that cover other federal judges. More than that, this absence potentially imperils the legitimacy of all American courts and the American judicial system, …

Letter: ‘Nothing to suggest’ Alito violated ethics standards
2 years ago

Letter: ‘Nothing to suggest’ Alito violated ethics standards

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court said Monday in a letter to Congress that there is “nothing to suggest” that Justice Samuel Alito violated ethics standards following a report that a 2014 decision he wrote was leaked in advance of its announcement. That report said that a former anti-abortion leader was told in advance the outcome of the Burwell v. Hobby …

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