Litigation

New Ethics Standards for Supreme Court Proposed

By Peter Hardin

Two Congressional Democrats have announced legislation that would apply to Supreme Court justices the same  ethics rules that currently govern other federal judges.

?Every week it seems, we have a new reason for this Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, to take seriously the growing problem of potential conflicts of interest on that court, especially as it seeks to take on some of the most important legislative acts passed by this Congress,? said Rep. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, according to a Blog of Legal Times article.

The legislation, co-sponsored by Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York, would have the Judicial Conference establish a process for investigating ethics complaints about justices, and justices would be required to explain why they did or did not recuse from hearing a case. If a justice declined to step aside from hearing a case, the rest of the Court could disqualify him.

The bill would apply the Judicial Conference’s Code of Conduct, which applies to all other federal judges, to Supreme Court justices, a press release by Murphy said.

Last week, more than 100 law professors signed a letter seeking action by Congress to establish ?mandatory and enforceable? ethics rules for Supreme Court justices (see Gavel Grab).

Murphy said in his press release, “The public’s trust in the Supreme Court has been damaged because of the political activities of some of the justices.  Americans deserve to know that this increasingly activist court is blind to outside influence.  This bill aims to restore that trust by making the Supreme Court more accountable and transparent.”

The disqualification issue at the high court was recently raised by Common Cause, an advocacy group. It questioned  whether Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas should have stepped aside in voting on the Supreme Court?s landmark Citizens United case.

?The highest court should not be held to the lowest standards,? Arn Pearson, vice president of Common Cause, said at today’s news conference about the legislation. According to a recent CTMirror.org article, Murphy said he was working with Common Cause in drafting his legislation. Common Cause is a partner of Justice at Stake.

Full post as published by The Gavel on March 01, 2011 (boomark / email).