Merkley, Wyden, Colleagues Lead the Charge to Establish Binding Code of Ethics for U.S. Supreme Court

Washington, D.C. –Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today they joined their colleagues to reintroduce the bicameralSupreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act. The legislation would require Supreme Court justices to adopt a binding code of conduct and create a mechanism to investigate alleged violations of the code of conduct and other laws. Led by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and U.S. Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA), theSCERT Actwould improve disclosure and transparency when a justice has a connection to a party or amicus before the Court, end the practice of justices ruling on their own conflicts of interests, and require justices to explain their recusal decisions to the public.
“All Supreme Court justices should be held to a binding code of ethics, just like all other federal judges, the executive branch, and Members of Congress,”said Merkley.“Thanks to the Federalist Society, the highest court in the land has become compromised, pushing a right-wing, corporate viewpoint above all else. To restore a government in service of the people—not the powerful—it’s clear we need to pass theSupreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act.”
“It’s imperative the U.S. Judicial Branch serve its Constitutional duty to uphold laws set by Congress, not accept lavish gifts from constituents scheming to curry favor with the court,”said Wyden.“I’ve been watchdoggingClarence Thomas’ unethical acceptance of giftsand sounding the alarm that he and any other judge who won’t recuse themselves in cases where they have a vested interest are compromising their oaths to defend the Constitution. If they won’t recuse themselves, we must prevent any egregious breach of ethics by passing theSupreme Court Ethics, Recuse and Transparency Act.”
In the last two years,reportingfromProPublica and the New York Times has exposed Justice Clarence Thomas’s long record of accepting undisclosed gifts from politically active right-wing billionaires. Further reporting fromProPublicafound that Justice Samuel Alito accepted private jet travel to an all-expenses-paid vacation from a hedge fund billionaire who had contributed over $80 million to Republican political organizations and had business before the Court. Justice Alito’s luxury vacation was organized by Leonard Leo, the engineer of the current right-wing Supreme Court supermajority at the behest of a cadre of right-wing billionaires and special interests.
TheSCERT Actwould address these ethical shortfalls and help restore Americans’ faith in the judicial branch. The bill would:
Develop a Process for Enforcement of a Code of Conduct
Improve Gift Rules and Transparency
Strengthen Recusal Requirements
A recentreportfrom Senator Whitehouse found every state supreme court (or equivalent high court) subjects its judges or justices to ethics reviews—similar to the processes that apply to all federal judges except the Supreme Court under theJudicial Conduct and Disability Act. TheSCERT Actwould eliminate this loophole by establishing an ethics review process for the Supreme Court.
Congress has an appropriate and well-established role in oversight of the judiciary and updating ethics laws that apply to federal officials, including federal judges and justices. Congress passed theEthics in Government Actand judicial recusal law, which expressly apply to Supreme Court justices. Congress created through statute the Judicial Conference, which administers financial disclosure laws for the entire judiciary. Congress also has the authority to regulate and make exceptions to which cases justices can hear, outside of a small category of cases required by the Constitution.
In addition to Merkley and Wyden, the legislation was cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Peter Welch (D-VT).
The legislation was endorsed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Fix the Court, Public Citizen, Demand Justice, Accountable.US/Accountable.NOW, Common Cause, End Citizens United/Let America Vote, New York City Bar Association, People’s Parity Project, League of Conservation Voters, Court Accountability Action, Free Law Project, American Governance Institute, Lawyers for Good Government, and Stand Up America.
Full text of the bill is available by clickinghere.
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