Demand Progress

After months of shocking ethics scandals involving Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, John Roberts, and others, the Supreme Court just self-imposed its first ever “code of conduct."¹

But the rules don’t impose any significant new requirements, and leave compliance entirely to each justice.²

Trusting the Supreme Court to police itself is what got us into this mess to start. The sham “code of conduct” the court has adopted will do next to nothing to rein in this out of control court. Congress must take action now to impose a real, enforceable ethics code on the Supreme Court.

For years, the Justices simply ignored the outcry over their ethics scandals. While the Court’s new code of conduct doesn’t go nearly far enough, it’s a clear sign that our activism is getting their attention. Indeed, Demand Progress has delivered over half a million petition signatures – and counting – to Congress calling for SCOTUS reform.

The scandals surrounding Thomas, Alito, Roberts, and their billionaire benefactors like Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo aren’t just morally reprehensible. The injection of huge sums into our legal system has led directly to our current right-wing court that’s gutted our reproductive rights, decimated environmental protections, and more.³

Earlier this year the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act (S. 359) out of committee. Now, we need Congress to pass this bill to finally create a real, binding code of conduct for our highest court.

Sources:

1. New York Times, “Supreme Court Adopts Ethics Code After Reports of Undisclosed Gifts and Travel,” November 13, 2023.
2. AP, “The Supreme Court says it is adopting a code of ethics, but it has no means of enforcement,” November 13, 2022.
3. ProPublica, “We Don’t Talk About Leonard: The Man Behind the Right’s Supreme Court Supermajority,” October 11, 2023.