Booker, Goldman Introduce Bill to Strengthen Ethics Oversight on the U.S. Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced legislation aimed at promoting ethical conduct and accountability for ethics violations within the U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. Representative Daniel Goldman (D-NY-10) introduced companion legislation in the House earlier this year.

Numerous allegations of ethical improprieties and undisclosed conflicts of interests and gifts, along with refusals to recuse by Supreme Court justices have eroded the public's trust in the Court and increased demand for more transparency and accountability in the nation's highest court.

The Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act is a critical first step towards improving ethical standards among the justices and holding justices accountable when they commit ethics violations. Specifically, the bill would establish two new offices within the Supreme Court:

1. An Office of Ethics Counsel that would provide regular ethics training and advise justices on ethics issues, including disclosing gifts and deciding when to recuse from cases.
2. An Office of Investigative Counsel that would investigate potential instances of ethical impropriety by justices and report the findings to Congress.

"There is no reason that the Justices who sit on the highest court in the country should be held to ethical standards that are lower than those of any employee in our federal government," said Senator Booker. "There's a crisis of confidence in the Supreme Court. Public trust in the institution is at its lowest point in decades as a result of alleged ethical lapses and conflicts of interest. By creating a mechanism to investigate and hold justices accountable for ethics violations and establishing an Ethics Counsel to provide consistent advice on issues like recusal, gifts, and disclosures, this bill is a critical step towards restoring the credibility of the Court in the eyes of the public."

"Our nation's highest court continues to face an unprecedented crisis of legitimacy, in part because there is no enforceable code of ethics nor accountability as required of all other federal judges," Congressman Dan Goldman said. "I am thrilled that Senator Booker is leading the charge in the Senate to pass my 'Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act.' This legislation is a sorely needed step to hold Supreme Court Justices accountable and restore Americans' faith in the Court."

"Americans should be able to have faith in the integrity of the highest court in the land, but the justices rely on each other for ethical guidance, and have no one checking their work," said Senator Hirono. "This legislation will help to address these issues by establishing offices to provide professional advice to justices on ethical matters and to investigate complaints made against them or their spouses. The American people should be able to trust that justices arrive at decisions fairly and objectively, and the Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act will help to hold the highest court in the land to the highest level of ethical accountability."

"The Supreme Court's lack of enforceable ethical standards degrade and detract from its credibility and trust. This measure takes an important step forward in making the Supreme Court more accountable to the American people by establishing internal offices to advise justices on ethical issues and investigate potential wrongdoing. Basic transparency and accountability-along with an enforceable code of ethics-is urgently needed to restore sinking public confidence in the Court," said Senator Blumenthal.

"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."

This legislation is endorsed by the following organizations: Fix the Court, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Accountable.US, End Citizens United (ECU), Project on Government Oversight (POGO), P Street, Court Accountability, and Demand Justice.

The Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Laphonza Butler (D-CA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

To read the full text of the bill, click here.