[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 188 (Tuesday, November 14, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           U.S. SUPREME COURT

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on the Supreme Court, yesterday, for 
the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court announced the adoption of an 
ethical code of conduct for Justices. At a time when Americans' trust 
in the High Court is deeply, deeply shaken, the Supreme Court has taken 
an important step to lay down basic rules of the road for our Justices. 
Frankly, this should have happened a long time ago. Lower courts have 
long been required to embrace an ethical code of conduct, and there is 
no reason that the Supreme Court should not have done the same.
  Now, while the Supreme Court's announcement was important, its lack 
of enforceability is a glaring omission. Justices, it seems, are left 
to their own devices in applying this code to themselves. Frankly, 
Americans could be excused if they are skeptical after everything they 
have read in the paper about Justices accepting lavish gifts and 
vacationing with ultrarich ideologues, some of whom bring cases before 
the Court.
  Sheldon Whitehouse said it well. He said: It is as if they are 
agreeing to the rules of baseball but no umpires.
  So, while the Justices' code of conduct is a necessary and important 
step, it cannot be the final word. The public's trust in our courts is 
a key feature of our democratic society, and there is a lot of work 
left to do before that trust is fully restored. Congress must--must--
continue its efforts to hold the judiciary accountable.

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