[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7647 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7647
To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for a code of conduct
for justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 3, 2022
Mr. Johnson of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Quigley, Mr.
Cicilline, Mr. Jones, Mr. Cohen, Mrs. McBath, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Ms.
Ross, Ms. Jackson Lee, and Ms. Dean) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for a code of conduct
for justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and for other
purposes.
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, Recusal, and
Transparency Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES.
(a) In General.--Chapter 16 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 365. Codes of conduct
``(a) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this
section, the Supreme Court of the United States shall, after
appropriate public notice and opportunity for comment in accordance
with section 2071, issue a code of conduct for the justices of the
Supreme Court.
``(b) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this
section, the Judicial Conference of the United States shall, after
appropriate public notice and opportunity for comment in accordance
with section 2071, issue a code of conduct for the judges of the courts
of appeals, the district courts (including bankruptcy judges and
magistrate judges), and the Court of International Trade.
``(c) The Supreme Court of the United States and the Judicial
Conference may modify the applicable codes of conduct under this
section after giving appropriate public notice and opportunity for
comment in accordance with section 2071.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for
chapter 16 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``365. Codes of conduct.''.
SEC. 3. MINIMUM DISCLOSURE STANDARDS FOR JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT.
Section 677 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(d) The Counselor, with the approval of the Chief Justice, shall
establish rules governing the disclosure of all gifts, reimbursements,
and income received by any justice and any law clerk to a justice. Such
rules shall at minimum require disclosure of any information concerning
gifts, income, and reimbursements required to be disclosed under the
Standing Rules of the Senate and the Rules of the House of
Representatives.''.
SEC. 4. CIRCUMSTANCES REQUIRING DISQUALIFICATION.
(a) Anticorruption Protections.--Subsection (b) of section 455 of
title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(6) Where the justice, judge, magistrate judge, or
bankruptcy judge of the United States knows that a party to the
proceeding or an affiliate of a party to the proceeding made
any lobbying contact or spent substantial funds in support of
the nomination, confirmation, or appointment of the justice,
judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge of the United
States.
``(7) Where the justice, judge, magistrate judge, or
bankruptcy judge of the United States, their spouse, minor
child, or a privately-held entity owned by any such person--
``(A) received income, a gift, or reimbursement (as
such terms are defined in the section 109 of the Ethics
in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)) from a party
to the proceeding or an affiliate of a party to the
proceeding; and
``(B) such receipt occurred during the period
beginning 6 years prior to the date on which the
justice, judge, bankruptcy judge, or magistrate judge
was assigned to the proceeding and ending on the date
of final disposition of the proceeding.''.
(b) Duty To Know.--Subsection (c) of section 455 of title 28,
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(c) A justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge of
the United States shall ascertain--
``(1) the personal and fiduciary financial interests of the
justice or judge of the United States;
``(2) the personal financial interests of the spouse and
minor children residing in the household of the justice or
judge of the United States; and
``(3) any interest of such persons that could be
substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding.''.
(c) Divestment.--Subsection (f) of section 455 of title 28, United
States Code, is amended by inserting ``under subsection (b)(4)'' after
``disqualified''.
(d) Duty To Notify.--Section 455 of title 28, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) If a justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge
learns of a condition that could reasonably require disqualification
under this section, the justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy
judge shall immediately notify all parties to the proceeding.''.
(e) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Section 455 of title 28,
United States Code, as amended by this section, is further amended--
(1) in the section heading, by striking ``judge, or
magistrate judge'' and inserting ``judge, magistrate judge, or
bankruptcy judge'';
(2) in subsection (a), by striking ``judge, or magistrate
judge'' and inserting ``judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy
judge'';
(3) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``the judge or
such lawyer'' and inserting ``the justice, the judge,
or such lawyer'';
(B) in paragraph (5)(iii), by inserting ``justice
or'' before ``judge''; and
(C) in paragraph (5)(iv), by inserting ``justice's
or'' before ``judge's'';
(4) in subsection (c), by inserting ``justice or'' before
``judge'';
(5) in subsection (d)(4)(i), by inserting ``justice or''
before ``judge''; and
(6) in subsection (e), by striking ``judge, or magistrate
judge'' and inserting ``judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy
judge''.
(f) Public Notice.--The rules of each court subject to section 455
of title 28, United States Code, as amended by this Act, shall be
amended to require that the clerk shall publish timely notice on the
website of the court of--
(1) any matter in which a justice, judge, magistrate judge,
or bankruptcy judge of the United States is disqualified under
such section;
(2) any matter in which the reviewing panel under section
1660 of title 28, United States Code, rules on a motion to
disqualify; and
(3) an explanation of each reason for the disqualification
or ruling, which shall include a specific identification of
each circumstance that resulted in such disqualification or
ruling.
SEC. 5. REVIEW OF CERTIFIED DISQUALIFICATION MOTIONS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1660. Review of certified motions to disqualify
``(a) Motion for Disqualification.--If a justice, judge, magistrate
judge, or bankruptcy judge is required to be disqualified from a
proceeding under any provision of Federal law, a party to the
proceeding may file a timely motion for disqualification, accompanied
by a certificate of good faith and an affidavit alleging facts
sufficient to show that disqualification of the justice, judge,
magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge is so required.
``(b) Consideration of Motion.--A justice, judge, magistrate judge,
or bankruptcy judge shall either grant or certify to a reviewing panel
a timely motion filed pursuant to subsection (a) and stay the
proceeding until a final determination is made with respect to the
motion.
``(c) Reviewing Panel.--
``(1) In general.--A reviewing panel to which a motion is
certified under subsection (b) shall be selected at random from
judges of the United States who do not sit on the same court--
``(A) as the judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy
judge who is the subject of the motion; or
``(B) as the other members of the reviewing panel.
``(2) Circuit limitation.--Not more than 1 member of the
reviewing panel may be a judge of the same judicial circuit as
the judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge who is the
subject of the motion.
``(d) Supreme Court Review.--The Supreme Court of the United States
shall be the reviewing panel for a motion seeking to disqualify a
justice.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for
chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``1660. Review of certified motions to disqualify.''.
SEC. 6. DISCLOSURE BY PARTIES AND AMICI.
The Supreme Court of the United States shall prescribe rules of
procedure in accordance with sections 2072 through 2074 of title 28,
United States Code, requiring each party or amicus to list in their
petition or brief a description and value of--
(1) any gift, income, or reimbursement (as such terms are
defined in section 109 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978
(5 U.S.C. App.)) provided to any justice or law clerk to a
justice during the period beginning 2 years prior to the
commencement of the proceeding and ending on the date of final
disposition of the proceeding by--
(A) each such party or amicus, or their affiliates;
(B) the lawyers or law firms in the proceeding of
each such party or amicus; and
(C) the officers, directors, or employees of each
such party or amicus; and
(2) any lobbying contact or expenditure of substantial
funds by any person described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and
(C) of paragraph (1) in support of the nomination,
confirmation, or appointment of a justice.
SEC. 7. AMICUS DISCLOSURE.
(a) In General.--Chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, as
amended by section 5, is further amended by adding at the end the
following:
``Sec. 1661. Disclosures related to amicus activities
``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `covered amicus' means
any person, including any affiliate of the person, that files an amicus
brief in a calendar year in the Supreme Court of the United States or a
court of appeals of the United States.
``(b) Disclosure.--
``(1) In general.--Any covered amicus that files an amicus
brief in the Supreme Court of the United States or a court of
appeals of the United States shall list in the amicus brief the
name of any person who--
``(A) contributed to the preparation or submission
of the amicus brief;
``(B) contributed not less than 3 percent of the
gross annual revenue of the covered amicus for the
previous calendar year if the covered amicus is not an
individual; or
``(C) contributed more than $100,000 to the covered
amicus in the previous calendar year.
``(2) Exceptions.--The requirements of this subsection
shall not apply to amounts received by a covered amicus
described in paragraph (1) in commercial transactions in the
ordinary course of any trade or business conducted by the
covered amicus or in the form of investments (other than
investments by the principal shareholder in a limited liability
corporation) in an organization if the amounts are unrelated to
the amicus filing activities of the covered amicus.
``(c) Audit.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall
conduct an annual audit to ensure compliance with this section.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for
chapter 111 of title 28, United States Code, as amended by section 5,
is further amended by adding at the end the following:
``1661. Disclosures related to amicus activities.''.
SEC. 8. CONFLICTS RELATED TO AMICI CURIAE.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the Supreme
Court of the United States and the Judicial Conference of the United
States shall prescribe rules of procedure in accordance with sections
2072 through 2074 of title 28, United States Code, for prohibiting the
filing of or striking an amicus brief that would result in the
disqualification of a justice, judge, or magistrate judge.
(b) Initial Transmittal.--The Supreme Court of the United States
shall transmit to Congress--
(1) the proposed rules required under subsection (a) not
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act;
and
(2) any rules in addition to those transmitted under
paragraph (1) pursuant to section 2074 of title 28, United
States Code.
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