Rep. Johnson’s Opening Statement on The SCOTUS Ethics, Recusal & Transparency Bill In Judiciary Committee
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Hank Johnson's (GA-04) made the following opening statement in support of his bill – H.R. 7647, the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act – during markup in the House Judiciary Committee.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move to strike the last word.
We don't know who is responsible for the leak of Justice Alito's draft opinion in the Dobbs case, but we do know that if it was done or directed by a member of the Court, that justice would likely face no consequences.
That's because unlike every other court in the land, all being bound by a code of conduct, the United States Supreme Court has failed and refused to bind itself to a code of ethics governing the conduct of its members. And that omission is something we can correct today, by moving this bill out of this committee and on to the House floor.
The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2022 would take meaningful steps to ensure that the Court polices itself in a transparent, accountable manner.
It would do that first by requiring the Court to draft and issue its own code of conduct for the justices and the Court's employees, after hearing from experts and the public about what that code should contain.
It would also strengthen judicial recusal rules, adding to the number of circumstances in which justices must recuse themselves, and giving parties to cases additional tools to make sure those recusals actually happen according to the law.
Equally important, the bill would strengthen disclosure rules for justices and others. It would require justices to adhere, at a minimum, to the same level of gift and income disclosures as members of Congress, so that parties to cases and members of the public and the press, can see when justices or their spouses are receiving gifts of travel, or accommodations from parties, lawyers, or those filing "friend of the court" briefs, who seek to influence judicial decision-making. It would also help ensure those "friends of the court" aren't getting too friendly with the justices, by requiring disclosure of every person or entity that has paid for the drafting and preparation of friend-of-the-court briefs, and whether they have given anything of value to the justices or their families.
This bill is a long time coming. Many of these changes have been put before this body in one form or another for the past decade or more. We are seeing the effects of our inaction. The word unprecedented is starting to lose its meaning as we see more and more questionable behavior from justices. And public trust and confidence in the Supreme Court is at an all-time low. By mandating that the Supreme Court develop and adopt a code of ethics, this bill would help restore the Court's reputation and reinforce that none of us—not even Supreme Court Justices—are above the law. I urge you all to support it.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your support of this bill, and thank you to its many cosponsors. I yield back the balance of my time.
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