Lawmakers and expert witnesses gathered Tuesday to hold a Senate Judiciary Committee ethics hearing regarding the U.S. Supreme Court.
This hearing followed a ProPublica report that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted luxurious trips and gifts from Texas businessman Harlan Crow but failed to disclose them in financial reports.
Last week, Business Insider also reported whistleblower allegations that Chief Justice John Roberts’ wife Jane “was paid more than $10 million by a host of elite law firms,” including at least one that argued a case before the chief justice.
Sen Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chair of the judiciary committee, announced at the start of the Tuesday hearing that it would be focused on potential judicial ethics reform. He mentioned rules for federal judges that have been developed over the course of decades along with Congress.
“We are here today because the Supreme Court of the United States of America does not consider itself bound by these rules,” he said.
Durbin said he invited Roberts to the hearing but that the justice declined. He also criticized a letter Roberts sent to the committee.
“The court should have a code of conduct with both clear and enforceable rules,” said Durbin, adding that current conditions have contributed to a lack of confidence in the nation’s highest court.
According to Gallup, confidence in the Supreme Court reached an historic low last summer, with just a quarter of the country who said they had faith in the court. That was down 11% compared to 2021.
This sharp decline also followed the unpopular Dobbs v.
Jackson Women’s Health opinion, which reversed decades of abortion access protection established by Roe v. Wade.
The Pew Research Center found that the majority of Americans disagreed with the decision and that positive views of the court nosedived after it was delivered.
During the hearing, Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said that he believes at least some of the public’s lack of faith in the court is linked to its “disregard of the majority.”
“The American public is disgusted,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.) of the Supreme Court justices participating in “conduct that would never be tolerated in their own workplaces.” He said that people have come to view the judges as “politicians in robes.”
Witness Hon. Jeremy Fogel, executive director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute and Former U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Calif., said that there is indeed a sentiment in judicial circles that the SCOTUS should be more assertive about ethical compliance.
Republican Senators, including Ted Cruz (Texas), Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) all made comments about the safety of Supreme Court justices. Cruz argued that Democrats singled Thomas out for accepting gifts.
Amanda Frost, John A. Ewald Jr. Research Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, explained that a clear code of ethics for the court could help with Supreme Court justice safety, as “the absence of laws,” is what leaves them open to political attacks. She recommends that the court come up with its own code.
“What is so hard for them to adopt a code that every other court has to abide by,” asked Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).
Others, including expert witnesses Hon. Michael B. Mukasey and Thomas H. Dupree Jr. Partner and Co-Chair of the Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, mentioned that enforcement could be an issue. A full recording of the meeting is available here.
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