This legislation amends title 28 of the United States Code to address potential conflicts of interest for federal judicial officers. It mandates that justices, judges, magistrate judges, and bankruptcy judges, as well as their spouses and dependent children, place specific financial assets into qualified blind trusts . This requirement applies to a broad range of financial interests, including securities, commodities, futures, and derivatives, but excludes widely held diversified investment funds, U.S. Treasury instruments, and compensation from a spouse's or dependent child's employer. For judicial officers already in office, these assets must be placed into a blind trust within 90 days of the bill's enactment, while newly appointed officers have 90 days from their swearing-in date. The bill also stipulates that these trusts cannot be dissolved, nor can the assets be controlled, until 180 days after the judicial officer leaves their position. To ensure accountability, each judicial officer must attest in writing that the trust has been established and assets placed, or that they possess no covered financial interests, with these attestations made publicly available.
This legislation amends title 28 of the United States Code to address potential conflicts of interest for federal judicial officers. It mandates that justices, judges, magistrate judges, and bankruptcy judges, as well as their spouses and dependent children, place specific financial assets into qualified blind trusts . This requirement applies to a broad range of financial interests, including securities, commodities, futures, and derivatives, but excludes widely held diversified investment funds, U.S. Treasury instruments, and compensation from a spouse's or dependent child's employer. For judicial officers already in office, these assets must be placed into a blind trust within 90 days of the bill's enactment, while newly appointed officers have 90 days from their swearing-in date. The bill also stipulates that these trusts cannot be dissolved, nor can the assets be controlled, until 180 days after the judicial officer leaves their position. To ensure accountability, each judicial officer must attest in writing that the trust has been established and assets placed, or that they possess no covered financial interests, with these attestations made publicly available.