Justice & Court Reform
As the former chair and now ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet, Congressman Johnson is the leading voice in the House on court reform -- particularly the Supreme Court. Even before the 6-3 right-wing supermajority took control of the court, Rep. Johnson proposed legislation to expand the Supreme Court (Judiciary Act); require that the justices follow a code of ethics, transparency, and recusal standards (SCERT Act); and establish term limits for justices (TERM Act). Rep. Johnson has also introduced legislation to ensure that employees of the federal judiciary have strong statutory rights and protections against discrimination and workplace misconduct (JAA).
For more on the Congressman’s work on court reform, please read below.
More on Justice & Court Reform
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) issued this statement after a Republican-appointed Supreme Court majority voted to overturn Roe v. Wade:
By Tyler Greenawalt, Yahoo News
Why did Goodell testify?
One of the more interesting questions unrelated to the Commanders investigation was posed by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA). He asked Goodell if he only agreed to testify because of the NFL's exemption from antitrust laws that gives the league special privileges with television networks. The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 allowed the NFL to sell packages to networks that the league shares equally among its teams.
The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011—or AIA— made the most fundamental changes to the patent laws that our country had not seen since the Patent Act of 1952. One of those fundamental changes was the creation of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board—an adjudicatory body within the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) released the following statement to mark the tenth anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, established by President Obama on June 15, 2012:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) introduced the Small Business Contracting Fairness Act of 2022, critical legislation to standardize treatment of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) within the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). The bill would strengthen the U.S. Department of Transportation's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program to help more minority and women-owned small businesses compete for contracts and competitive funding opportunities.
Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) released the following statement marking the 59th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act, signed into law by President Kennedy on June 10, 1963:
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) released the following statement on President Biden's signing of an executive order to advance effective, accountable policing on the second anniversary of the death of George Floyd:
"I'm grieving for the lives lost and shattered by yet another instance of senseless and horrific gun violence.
The uniquely American experiment of putting more and more guns into the hands of the "good guys" to solve the problem of gun violence has been a disastrous failure, and innocent victims are paying the price with their lives.
It's time to acknowledge reality and end this horrific experiment, and for Congress to pass legislation banning the manufacture and sale of assault weapons to the general public.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) voted to reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), legislation that will help unleash the full potential of Georgia's workforce by ensuring Georgians have the skills they need to succeed. Amid the strongest job growth in modern times, these investments will connect Georgians to a record number of job openings – bringing workers off the sidelines, increasing production and lowering the cost of key goods.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Hank Johnson's (GA-04) bill – H.R. 7647, the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act – was marked up and passed out of the House Judiciary Committee.
The bill will require justices of the Supreme Court to adopt and follow a code of ethics, places transparency standards on gifts and travel, codifies recusal standards and requires the court to disclose lobbying and dark money interests before it. It now goes to the full House for a floor vote.