Washington.—As calls for the Supreme Court to adopt a Code of Ethics, judges continue to fight over whether they should adopt a policy similar to one that applies to all other federal judges.
The possibility of a judicial code of conduct for Supreme Court judges is still under study and consideration in court, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Association of American Bar Leaders this week joined the voices urging judges to adopt a Code of Ethics.
“The absence of a clearly articulated code of ethics for court judges jeopardizes the legitimacy of the court,” says a report accompanying the Bar Association ruling.
The report says the ruling was not prompted by “any particular conduct of any of the current or former members of the court.”
“Although the events of recent years, especially including the insurrection of January 6, 2021, vividly remind us that the legitimacy of our country’s key institutions rests on the foundations of our democratic and republican way of life.”
Virginia Thomas, the wife of Judge Clarence Thomas, helped to nullify the 2020 presidential election weeks before the attack on the Capitol.
The fact that Judge Thomas did not recuse himself from cases related to that event generated strong criticism from experts in legal ethics.
In a 2019 budget hearing before a House Committee, Justice Elena Kagan said that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. “is looking into the question of whether there should be a code of judicial conduct that applies only to the Supreme Court.” United States Court”.
“That’s something we haven’t discussed yet,” he said, referring to the private meetings of the judges. “I’m sure there are pros and cons to that, but it’s something that is being seriously thought about.”
