Indivisibles, 

On Monday, the Supreme Court announced that it was adopting a new code of ethics following months of reports about MAGA justices accepting lavish gifts from billionaires. 

The problem? Their code has no accountability mechanisms, essentially serving as a PR stunt for a court that has faced outcries over its clear lack of standards and objectivity. The Court even admits as much on the first page: 

“The absence of a Code, however, has led in recent years to the misunderstanding that the Justices of this Court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules. To dispel this misunderstanding, we are issuing this Code, which largely represents a codification of principles that we have long regarded as governing our conduct.”

The Court is not trying to impose any actual standards upon themselves, they are codifying the loose terms of principles that have been governing their conduct which led to the corruption in the first place. That means more trips on private jets, more luxury fishing trips with billionaires, and more $267,230 loans mysteriously forgiven without any additional oversight.

Does that seem as ridiculous to you as it does to us?

We thought so! That’s why we’re pushing Congress to adopt the Supreme Court Ethics and Recusal Act (SCERT).

Every other federal court in the country is already bound by a code of ethics. SCERT would impose an enforceable code on Supreme Court justices -- liberal and conservative -- ensuring that the highest court in the land is not held to the lowest ethical standards. 

In particular, SCERT:

• Creates meaningful and enforceable ethics guidelines for the Supreme Court by establishing a binding code of conduct for all of the justices. 
• Clarifies and strengthens justices’ duty to recuse themselves from cases in which they have conflicts of interest and requires public disclosure of those conflicts.
• Mandates that, at a minimum, the justices adhere to the same gift, travel, and income disclosure standards as Members of Congress.
• Imposes a duty on justices to know their own (and their family’s) financial and other interests that could be substantially affected by cases before them.
• Shines a light on dark money and the courts by requiring all parties to list any lobbying or substantial expenditures in support of a justice’s nomination, confirmation, or appointment, and any gifts, income, or reimbursements made to the justices.
• Creates a mechanism to investigate any violation of the code.

We don’t know about you, but that sounds a lot better than the basic ‘just trust us’ code SCOTUS is currently trying to pass off as legitimate. 

Now’s when we need your help:

Call your representative and demand they cosponsor SCERT!

And when you’re finished, call your senators and demand they cosponsor SCERT too!

The Supreme Court clearly won’t police itself. That’s why Congress should (and has a duty to) step in. Call your Member of Congress today!

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team