Code of conduct for justices would be created.
The House Judiciary Committee has advanced a Supreme Court ethics bill following concerns about Justice Clarence Thomas, comments made by his wife, and cases related to the House investigation into the January 6, 2021 incident at the Capitol.
The measure which passed the committee on a party-line vote would impose limits on the Supreme Court justices, such as new recusal standards for when a judge should not sit on a case because of a conflict.
The legislation would require the creation of a code of conduct for Supreme Court justices and a new code of conduct for all federal judges, among other provisions.
The chairman of the committee, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York said there was a “growing and persistent ethics crisis” at the Supreme Court. He pointed to the fact that justices can receive gifts, expensive vacations, and other compensation without disclosing it or facing consequences when they do not recuse themselves from a case where they have a conflict.
The ranking member, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, said, “This isn’t about ethics, this is an insurance policy for them when things don’t go their way, they want to have the tools at their disposal to make life hard for the justices.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For members of Congress considering the U.S. Supreme Court ethics bill.
- For all the justices of the Supreme Court as they work together to produce decisions on outstanding cases.
- That the law and Constitution would be upheld by all three branches of the U.S. government.
Sources: Roll Call, U.S. News
