[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 835 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 835

To require the Supreme Court of the United States to promulgate a code 
                               of ethics.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                April 5 (legislative day, April 4), 2017

 Mr. Murphy (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Markey, 
Ms. Hirono, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Merkley) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Supreme Court of the United States to promulgate a code 
                               of ethics.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Supreme Court Ethics Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) In Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., 556 U.S. 868 
        (2009), Justice Kennedy, writing for the Court, stated that 
        ``[judicial codes of conduct] serve to maintain the integrity 
        of the judiciary and the rule of law''.
            (2) The Code of Conduct for United States Judges (referred 
        to in this subsection as the ``Code'') applies to all Federal 
        judges except Justices of the Supreme Court. Justices of the 
        Supreme Court are not formally bound by any code of conduct. 
        Chief Justice John Roberts noted in the 2011 Year-End Report on 
        the Federal Judiciary that while the Judicial Conference, which 
        promulgates the Code, does not have authority to bind the 
        Supreme Court, the Code is nonetheless ``the starting point and 
        a key source of guidance for the Justices as well as their 
        lower court colleagues''.
            (3) Congress has the authority to regulate the 
        administration of the Supreme Court of the United States. For 
        example, Congress sets the number of Justices who sit on the 
        Supreme Court and how many constitute a quorum, the term of the 
        court, meaning the dates the court will be in session, and the 
        salaries of the Justices. Additionally, the Ethics in 
        Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) requires most high-level 
        Federal officials in all 3 branches, including the President, 
        Vice President, cabinet members, Justices of the Supreme Court, 
        and Members of Congress, to file annual financial disclosure 
        statements.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to apply a code of ethics 
to Justices who sit on the Supreme Court of the United States, being 
mindful of their preeminence in the Federal judiciary.

SEC. 3. SUPREME COURT CODE OF ETHICS.

    The Supreme Court of the United States shall, not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, promulgate a code of 
ethics for the Justices of the Supreme Court that shall include the 5 
canons of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges adopted by the 
Judicial Conference of the United States, with any amendments or 
modifications thereto that the Supreme Court determines appropriate.
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