Dear John,

Federal judges in lower courts must abide by the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, but there is no code of conduct for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Unlike in the lower courts, Supreme Court Justices’ decisions as to whether or not basic judicial ethics apply to them are left entirely up to their own personal discretion. However, as significant ethical violations have continued to emerge in recent months, it has become increasingly clear:

There is a need to enact a clear set of ethical standards for the Supreme Court.

Among the most egregious examples of judicial misconduct of which we have learned, Justice Clarence Thomas accepting -- and not disclosing -- potentially millions of dollars worth of gifts and travel from a Republican mega-donor, as well as his repeated refusal to recuse himself from cases due to conflicts of interest posed by his wife Ginni Thomas’s extremist activism, stand out.

But new concerns have arisen regarding other justices as well, including Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and even Chief Justice John Roberts himself.

Clearly it’s time for the Senate to pass new ethics standards that can be used to hold justices accountable for their actions. Click here to urge the Senate to pass new ethics standards for the Supreme Court.

Recent revelations of questionable judicial conduct include the news that Justice Neil Gorsuch sold a 40-acre Colorado property for over $1.8 million to the CEO of Greenberg Traurig, a law firm that has had 22 cases before the Supreme Court during Gorsuch’s tenure. He should have recused himself, but Gorsuch sided with the firm in 67% of the 12 cases in which he filed an opinion. Were his opinions biased by his business relationship with the firm’s CEO?

Gorsuch also spoke alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence at a Florida Federalist Society event in 2022 that was closed to the press, and he failed to recuse himself from a case involving Penguin Random House Books, which has paid him over $650,000 in book sales since he became a justice.

Other justices too have experienced ethical lapses. Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh met privately with the head of the National Organization for Marriage, which filed amicus briefs in three cases the justices decided. Alito also traveled at the expense of a top Republican donor on a fishing trip to Alaska, and he failed to recuse himself in a number of cases involving companies in which he held stock, including Disney, Merck, Rockwell, and PNC Bank.

Meanwhile, Americans for Prosperity spent over $1 million to support the confirmation of Justice Amy Barrett, but she did not recuse herself from a 2021 case involving the group. Justice Barrett also gave a speech standing next to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell at the University of Louisville, having just enjoyed dinner with Senator McConnell and his friends, in which she proclaimed that the Court should not be viewed as political.

Chief Justice Roberts himself has come under fire for conflicts of interest, as his wife has earned millions of dollars in commissions for placing prominent Washington lawyers at top law firms, some of which have cases before the Supreme Court. Roberts also failed to recuse himself from cases involving firms in which he held stock, including Texas Instruments, Life Technologies, and AT&T.

The Supreme Court handles cases every year that impact millions of lives across the country. They’re the most powerful judges in the land, but they are the only ones not bound by a code of conduct. Please sign the petition to urge the Senate to act. Supreme Court justices must act within an ethics code.

Thank you for helping to build trust and transparency in the highest court in our land.

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action