Bill Summary
This legislation, known as the "Supreme Court Ethics Act," aims to establish a code of conduct for justices and judges of the United States courts, create an Ethics Investigations Counsel to enforce this code, and require disclosure of recusals (when a justice removes themselves from a case due to a conflict of interest or bias). The code of conduct will be issued by the Judicial Conference of the United States within one year of the enactment of this Act and will apply to all justices and judges, with some provisions being applicable only to certain categories. The Ethics Investigations Counsel will be appointed by the Supreme Court and will have a term of 4 years to investigate potential violations of the code and other conduct that may impact the administration of the Supreme Court. The Counsel will also be required to issue an annual public report detailing any complaints and actions taken. Finally, this legislation also requires that justices disclose the reasons for their disqualification or denial of a motion to disqualify in the public record of the proceeding.
Possible Impacts
1. The Supreme Court Ethics Act could potentially affect individuals who are judges or justices of the courts of the United States. They would be required to adhere to a code of conduct and could face investigations if there are potential violations.
2. The establishment of an Ethics Investigations Counsel could affect individuals who have filed complaints against justices of the Supreme Court. They may have their complaints investigated and potentially resolved.
3. This legislation could also affect the public, as the annual public report issued by the Ethics Investigations Counsel would provide information on complaints and steps taken to address them, promoting transparency and accountability in the judicial system.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 325 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 325
To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for a code of conduct
for justices and judges of the courts of the United States, establish
an ethics investigations counsel, and require disclosure of recusals.
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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 9, 2023
Mr. Murphy (for himself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr.
Brown, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms.
Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. Hickenlooper,
Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley, Mrs. Murray, Mr.
Peters, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Smith, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Van
Hollen, Mr. Wyden, and Ms. Hirono) introduced the following bill; which
was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for a code of conduct
for justices and judges of the courts of the United States, establish
an ethics investigations counsel, and require disclosure of recusals.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Supreme Court Ethics Act''.
SEC. 2. CODE OF CONDUCT.
(a) In General.--Chapter 57 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 964. Code of conduct
``Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this
section, the Judicial Conference of the United States shall issue a
code of conduct, which applies to each justice and judge of the courts
of the United States, except that the code of conduct may include
provisions that are applicable only to certain categories of judges or
justices.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for
chapter 57 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding after
the item related to section 963 the following:
``964. Code of conduct.''.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF ETHICS INVESTIGATIONS COUNSEL AND REPORTING
PROTOCOL.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date on which the
Judicial Conference of the United States issues a code of conduct under
section 964 of title 28, United States Code, as added by section 2(a)
of this Act, the Supreme Court of the United States shall appoint and
fix the compensation of an Ethics Investigations Counsel who shall
adopt rules providing for the enforcement of the code of conduct,
including a process to receive from the public information about
potential violations of the code of conduct by justices of the Supreme
Court.
(b) Term.--The Ethics Investigation Counsel shall serve a term of 4
years.
(c) Removal.--The Ethics Investigation Counsel may be removed for
cause by the Supreme Court of the United States.
(d) Process.--The process shall include the establishment of a
method for the submission of the information described in subsection
(a) in electronic form.
(e) Investigations.--The Ethics Investigations Counsel appointed
under this section shall conduct investigations into potential
violations of the code of conduct described in section 964 of title 28,
United States Code, as added by section 2(a) of this Act, and other
conduct prejudicial to the ethical, effective, and expeditious
administration of the business of the Supreme Court of the United
States.
(f) Assistants.--The Ethics Investigations Counsel appointed under
this section may, with the approval of the Chief Justice of the United
States, appoint necessary assistants and fix their compensation.
(g) Report.--The Ethics Investigations Counsel appointed under this
section shall issue an annual public report describing the complaints
described in subsection (a) and any steps taken to investigate,
resolve, or rehabilitate the conduct detailed in the complaint.
SEC. 4. RECUSAL OF JUSTICES.
(a) In General.--In any case in which a justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States disqualifies himself or herself in a
proceeding under section 455 of title 28, United States Code, the
justice shall disclose in the public record of the proceeding the
reasons for the disqualification.
(b) Denial of Motion To Disqualify.--If a justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States denies a motion brought by a party to a
proceeding before the Court that the justice should be disqualified in
the proceeding under section 455 of title 28, United States Code, the
justice shall disclose in the public record of the proceeding the
reasons for the denial of the motion.
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