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 US Supreme Court is not bound to comply with a code of ethics”. “But that’s certainly not stopping them from trying.” US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, in a letter declining an invitation to testify before the committee, said that the top court in 1991 voluntarily adopted a resolution to “follow the substance” of a code of conduct set by the Judicial Conference of the United States, the policymaking body for the broader federal judiciary. “Last month we learned about a justice who, for years, has accepted lavish trips and real estate purchases worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from a billionaire with interest before the court,” Durbin said.

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History of this topic

‘An ethical crisis of its own making’: Democrats blast Supreme Court ethics
4 days, 2 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
4 days, 2 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 …

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 …

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 …

Senators file official demand for criminal investigation of Clarence Thomas
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Senators file official demand for criminal investigation of Clarence Thomas

Raw Story  

Democratic senators are calling for the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas violated federal ethics and tax laws. "The evidence assembled thus far plainly suggests that Justice Thomas has committed numerous willful violations of federal ethics and false-statement laws and raises significant questions about whether he and his wealthy benefactors …

Supreme Court overturns ex-mayor’s bribery conviction, narrowing the scope of public corruption law
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Supreme Court overturns ex-mayor’s bribery conviction, narrowing the scope of public corruption law

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court overturned the bribery conviction of a former Indiana mayor on Wednesday, the latest in a series of decisions narrowing the scope of federal public corruption law. The high court’s 6-3 opinion along ideological lines found the law criminalizes bribes given before an official act, not rewards handed out after. The decision continues a pattern in …

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 …

“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 …

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 …

Opinion: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ corruption is intolerable. Here’s what we can do about it
1 year, 4 months ago

Opinion: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ corruption is intolerable. Here’s what we can do about it

LA Times  

If you thought you could no longer be shocked by the lavish gifts conservative billionaires have reportedly bestowed on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Thursday’s remarkable investigative report from ProPublica might surprise you. The report exposes Thomas’ pattern of secretly accepting private flights, yacht trips and other luxuries from a cadre of super-wealthy conservative donors over three decades in violation …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Ethics rules for Supreme Court justices approved on party-line vote by U.S. Senate panel
1 year, 5 months ago

Ethics rules for Supreme Court justices approved on party-line vote by U.S. Senate panel

Raw Story  

WASHINGTON — The Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Thursday approved a proposal to impose a code of ethics for the U.S. Supreme Court, amid revelations that justices failed to disclose luxury travel and real estate deals, as well as directing staff to promote book sales. “Unlike every other federal official, Supreme Court justices are not bound by a code …

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 …

Harlan Crow: Investigating My Gifts to Clarence Thomas Is Unconstitutional
54 years, 11 months ago

Harlan Crow: Investigating My Gifts to Clarence Thomas Is Unconstitutional

Slate  

Congress has regulated the Supreme Court for as long as the two institutions have existed. A different statutes compels the justices to recuse from a case any time their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” Bopp ignores these statutes and instead offers the familiar imperial defense, recently invoked by Chief Justice John Roberts: Any congressional intrusion on SCOTUS’ affairs would “violate …

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 …

Overhaul of Supreme Court ethics runs into GOP opposition
1 year, 7 months ago

Overhaul of Supreme Court ethics runs into GOP opposition

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats promised Tuesday to pursue stronger ethics rules for the Supreme Court in the wake of reports that Justice Clarence Thomas participated in luxury vacations and a real estate deal with a top GOP donor. “The Supreme Court could step up and fix this themselves,” Durbin said as he opened the hearing. While the rules are not …

Leading conservative former judge warns Supreme Court it must adopt the ‘highest’ standard of ethics rules
1 year, 7 months ago

Leading conservative former judge warns Supreme Court it must adopt the ‘highest’ standard of ethics rules

CNN  

CNN — In a carefully worded, but blunt statement, conservative former federal judge J. Michael Luttig sent a warning shot to the Supreme Court, calling on the Court to enact a code of conduct that would “subject itself to the highest professional and ethical standards that would render the Court beyond reproach.” If the Supreme Court does not take such …

Partisan divide drives Senate hearing on Supreme Court ethics
1 year, 7 months ago

Partisan divide drives Senate hearing on Supreme Court ethics

NPR  

Partisan divide drives Senate hearing on Supreme Court ethics Enlarge this image toggle caption Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images Bitter partisan debates between Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Judiciary panel fueled a hearing on Supreme Court ethics Tuesday. Republican senators speaking at the hearing on Tuesday said that while they are concerned about Supreme …

Supreme Court on ethics issues: Not broken, no fix needed
1 year, 7 months ago

Supreme Court on ethics issues: Not broken, no fix needed

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is speaking with one voice in response to recent criticism of the justices’ ethical practices: No need to fix what isn’t broken. Charles Geyh, an Indiana University law professor and legal ethics expert, said everything the justices detailed Tuesday evening about ethics was essentially outlined in Chief Justice John Roberts’ annual year-end report from 2011, …

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 …

Senate Democrats Urge John Roberts To Probe Clarence Thomas' Undisclosed Gifts
1 year, 8 months ago

Senate Democrats Urge John Roberts To Probe Clarence Thomas' Undisclosed Gifts

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday urged Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to investigate a recent bombshell report that Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted and failed to disclose 20 years’ worth of lavish gifts and luxury travel from a billionaire GOP megadonor. “Senator Durbin is, of course, right that Chief Justice Roberts has a …

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, …

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