Supreme Court Ethics Act

The bill requires the Judicial Conference of the United States to issue a code of conduct for all federal judges within one year, incorporating existing ethical requirements. Concurrently, the Supreme Court must also issue its own code of conduct for justices, similarly based on existing standards, within the same timeframe. This aims to standardize and formalize ethical guidelines across the entire federal judiciary.

Furthermore, the legislation establishes an Ethics Investigations Counsel for the Supreme Court, to be appointed within 90 days of the Court issuing its code of conduct. This counsel will serve a renewable four-year term, investigate potential code violations, receive public complaints, and publish an annual report detailing its activities. Additionally, Supreme Court justices will be required to publicly disclose the specific reasons for their recusals in proceedings or for denying motions seeking their disqualification. These measures are designed to significantly increase transparency and accountability regarding judicial ethics.