Goldman, Booker Reintroduce Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act to Restore Accountability and Transparency to the Supreme Court

GOLDMAN, BOOKER REINTRODUCE SUPREME COURT ETHICS AND INVESTIGATIONS ACT TO RESTORE ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY TO THE SUPREME COURT

With SCOTUS Facing A Crisis of Legitimacy, Legislation Would Establish Offices of Ethics and Investigations within the Supreme Court

Washington, DC - U.S. Representative Dan Goldman (D-NY-10) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) reintroduced the Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act. This bill would establish a dedicated investigative body within the Supreme Court that would provide transparency and accountability through exhaustive investigations into alleged ethical improprieties and reports to Congress on its findings. The Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act would also establish an ethics counsel charged with providing advice and guidance to justices on ethical issues, including disclosure requirements and recusal.

"Americans have lost trust in our nation's highest court," said Rep. Goldman. "For the health of our democracy, we must restore faith in the Supreme Court by holding Supreme Court justices to the same ethics standards as all other federal judges. This legislation is a critical first step to ensure that the highest court no longer has the lowest ethical standards."

"The highest court in the land should be held to the highest ethical standards-yet repeated revelations of ethical improprieties have eroded trust in our judicial system at a time when the need for that trust is so important," said Senator Hirono. "The American people should be able to trust that Supreme Court justices arrive at their decisions fairly and objectively. This legislation is a critical first step toward addressing ethics violations and increasing transparency to ensure Americans can have faith in the integrity of the Supreme Court."

"Our nation's highest court should be held to the highest ethical standards. This legislation is an important step in ensuring Supreme Court Justices are held accountable to the American people. The Supreme Court is facing a crisis of legitimacy, as allegations of misconduct and conflicts of interests have eroded the public's trust in the Court. By establishing internal offices to advise Justices and investigate potential wrongdoing, this legislation promotes transparency and integrity in the Court and restores Americans' faith in this critical democratic institution," said Senator Blumenthal.

"The Supreme Court has operated for far too long without an enforceable code of ethics and the result is a court plagued with ethical problems. From accepting gifts from those with interests before the Court, to luxury travel, the actions and conflicts of interest among several of the Justices have undermined public confidence in the Court. This legislation is a much-needed step in holding Justices accountable and establishing the means necessary to investigate instances of ethical impropriety," said Senator Schiff, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"It's no surprise that repeated allegations of Justices accepting lavish paid vacations and other conflicts of interest have decimated public trust in our nation's most powerful court. Since the Court has decided to disregard its ethical obligations, Congress must step in to hold Justices accountable," said Senator Welch. "This legislation is a necessary step toward increasing transparency and accountability in the Supreme Court and restoring public trust in this vital democratic institution."

"We need to restore public confidence in the Supreme Court, and that comes from true transparency and accountability," said Representative Johnson, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee over Courts. "The Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act would provide that accountability by creating an Office of Investigative Counsel within the Court to probe potential instances of ethical impropriety by justices and report back to Congress. I am proud to help lead this effort, which will help us hold our highest court to the highest ethical standards."

Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Peter Welch (D-VT) and Reps. Hank Johnson (D-GA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Glenn Ivey (D-MD), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), and Greg Landsman (D-OH) cosponsor this legislation.

The Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act is endorsed by CREW, Court Accountability, Demand Justice, End Citizens United, Fix the Court, and POGO.

The Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act would:

• Establish an Office of Ethics Counsel within the Court to advise justices on ethical matters

• Provide ethics training and advice to justices and their spouses through dedicated ethics counsels

• Establish an Office of Investigative Counsel within the Court to probe potential instances of ethical impropriety by justices and report to Congress on compliance

• Provide Congress the ability to submit ethics complaints to the Office of Investigative Counsel and delivers reports on those complaints in a timely manner

"The public should be able to trust that the Supreme Court will adhere to the law and to the highest ethical standards," said Debra Perlin, Vice President for Policy at Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). "But despite adopting a Code of Conduct over two years ago, the Supreme Court still lacks an independent enforcement mechanism for its ethics code. We applaud Representative Goldman for reintroducing the Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act, which aims to overcome this deficiency by authorizing the Supreme Court to create an Office of Ethics Counsel to provide the justices ethical advice, and a separate Office of Investigative Counsel to conduct independent investigations of potential ethics violations. By giving Supreme Court justices the tools to ensure ethical compliance, this legislation brings us closer to the justice system the American people deserve."

Fix the Court executive director Gabe Roth said, "By creating a process for ethics complaints to be filed against the justices and reviewed by a dedicated investigative body, the bill does what Chief Justice Roberts and his predecessors should have done years ago. After all, that's the framework the 2,400 federal judges not on the high court have operated under for 45 years. But since the Court has demurred, Congress under its ample Article I powers has the capacity and the responsibility to step in. I thank Rep. Goldman and his colleagues for reintroducing this bill and for staying focused on the glaring gaps in SCOTUS's ethics practices."

Rep. Goldman is a longstanding advocate for Supreme Court ethics and transparency. In 2023, he led 49 fellow members of Congress in sending a letter to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas demanding Justice Thomas recuse himself from Loper Bright v. Raimondo, and any other case challenging the Chevron deference doctrine, following ProPublica's investigative reporting that revealed Justice Thomas' secret participation in donor events organized by the Koch Network.

Rep. Goldman also called on Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from ruling on United States of America v. Donald J. Trump, in which former President Donald Trump was charged with conspiring to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election, conspiring to obstruct the certification of the electoral vote, and actually obstructing the certification of the electoral vote. Public reporting had revealed that Ginni Thomas, Justice Thomas' wife, played a pivotal role in urging multiple states to overturn their results in the 2020 election.

Rep. Goldman has repeatedly called on Chief Justice John Roberts to establish an ethics counsel within the Supreme Court to standardize ethics procedures, advise justices on ethical issues, and prevent ethical misjudgements. Rep. Goldman is also a cosponsor of the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act and the Judicial Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act to formally establish a code of conduct for Supreme Court Justices. He is a founding member of the Court Reform Now Task Force.

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