The SCERT Act: Improving Ethics and Transparency Laws for Supreme Court Justices

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Vice Chairman Cory Booker (D-NJ) today released a report on the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act. 

To read the report, click here.

In recent years, Supreme Court justices have received undisclosed lavish gifts, failed to recuse themselves from cases despite conflicts of interest, and committed other serious ethical lapses.

The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act addresses the ethics crisis at the Supreme Court by improving accountability and transparency standards. The legislation requires the Supreme Court to adopt a binding code of conduct; creates a process for investigating misconduct at the Court; strengthens recusal standards for justices and disclosure rules for special interests trying to influence the courts; and improves disclosure of travel and hospitality for justices. This bill was reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 20 by a vote of 11 to 10.

The Supreme Court’s newly adopted code of conduct is not strong enough because it does not create any enforcement mechanism for receiving complaints or investigating possible violations. It falls short of what we should expect from a code of conduct and fails to restore the public’s trust in the Supreme Court.