Senators call for Supreme Court to follow ethics code like other branches of government

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says it's time for Supreme Court justices to bring their conduct in line with the standards of other branches of government.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says it's time for Supreme Court justices to bring their conduct in line with the standards of other branches of government.

My name is Eric Tucker and I am *** reporter with the Associated Press in our Washington Bureau. My colleague Brian Sco and I embarked on *** project starting last November to determine what happens when Supreme Court justices travel to colleges and universities and law schools all across the country. We focused our attention on the Supreme Court because it's part of *** branch of government, namely the judiciary that receives far less public scrutiny than other branches of government. That's in part because the Supreme Court lacks an ethics code for its members. And so there's little oversight over what justices can and can't do another area that separates the court, not just the Supreme Court, but the judicial branch of government in general is the fact that there is no public records request that one could submit to the court to get information from them. And so in order to determine what we were able to determine about what actually happened during these visits to colleges and universities, we had to ask the colleges and universities themselves instead of the justices and instead of the court, the Supreme Court in many ways operates shielded from public scrutiny and public view, there are of course no cameras in the Supreme Court or in other federal courtrooms, meaning that the public is not able to see in real time through the lens of *** camera. What exactly is taking place? The absence of an ethics code is really important because part of what our reporting showed is that there are behaviors that go on among the justices and among their staff that went applied to other branches of government would not be considered permissible. Another thing that sets the Supreme Court and the Federal judiciary apart from other branches of government is the existence of lifetime appointments. Such that when *** member of the Supreme Court is confirmed to the bench, that is *** job that they are entitled to keep forever for the rest of their lives. There is no other government office that exists as *** lifetime appointment like that. The Supreme Court since its creation centuries ago, has existed as an independent autonomous entity even within the judicial branch of government. And that's in part *** reflection of the way the government was set up centuries ago with three separate but equal branches of government. And we have seen that the Supreme Court has been an entity that does not have any outside or independent oversight. The only oversight comes from within. We have seen how the court has adopted its own procedures sometimes in response to public scrutiny. But for the most part, there is no external, um, outside guide posts that governs the, the conduct, um, and keeps tabs on the behavior of the nine members of the Supreme Court.

Senators call for Supreme Court to follow ethics code like other branches of government

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says it's time for Supreme Court justices to bring their conduct in line with the standards of other branches of government.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responding to Associated Press investigative stories on the Supreme Court, said Tuesday it was time for the justices to bring their conduct in line with the ethical standards of other branches of government.바카라 게임 웹사이트�If they just establish the basic standards of every other branch of government, it would give us much more confidence in their integrity,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said. He commented in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he was attending the NATO summit as part of the U.S. delegation.The AP published stories showing that Justice Sonia Sotomayor, aided by her staff, has advanced sales of her books through college visits over the past decade; that universities have used trips by justices as a lure for financial contributions by placing them in event rooms with wealthy donors, and that justices have taken expenses-paid teaching trips to attractive locations that are light on actual classroom instruction.The series comes after stories over the past six months that have raised ethical concerns about the activities of the justices. Durbin and other lawmakers in Washington have announced a vote next week on legislation that would require the court to adopt an ethics code. While the measure is unlikely to pass, it sends a signal of discontent about the court.The nation's highest court operates without an ethics code, instead following what Chief Justice John Roberts has referred to as a set of foundational 바카라 게임 웹사이트�ethics principles and practices.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Asked Tuesday about the AP stories, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who also sits on the Judiciary Committee, called them 바카라 게임 웹사이트�powerful reports바카라 게임 웹사이트� that amount to a "drip-by-drip-by-drip indictment of a Supreme Court that seems answerable to no one for ethical breaches.바카라 게임 웹사이트�The chief justice really ought to be taking these into account for the sake the court and the country because the Supreme Court will no longer exist as a truly viable institution if it continues the failure to face the need for a code of ethics,바카라 게임 웹사이트� he said.In contrast, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, another member of the Judiciary Committee, said he believes Congress should leave the ethics issue to the court and that the Democrats' pursuit of ethics reform 바카라 게임 웹사이트�is part of a long-standing assault against the court that the left feels is undermining a lot of things they바카라 게임 웹사이트�ve accomplished over the years by judicial action. To me, that바카라 게임 웹사이트�s the motivating factor."바카라 게임 웹사이트�I think it바카라 게임 웹사이트�s a co-equal branch of government we don바카라 게임 웹사이트�t have jurisdiction over. Secondly, I think this is part of a false narrative that the court is out of control and needs Congress to save it,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Cornyn said.Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis and an expert in legal ethics, said the latest reporting reveals the extent to which "ethics problems at the Supreme Court is an equal opportunity scandal.바카라 게임 웹사이트�It's not just about Clarence Thomas and (Samuel) Alito,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Clark said, referring to earlier media reporting about the two conservative justices. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�It's an institutional rather than individual problem.바카라 게임 웹사이트�

바카라 게임 웹사이트�If they just establish the basic standards of every other branch of government, it would give us much more confidence in their integrity,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said. He commented in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he was attending the NATO summit as part of the U.S. delegation.

The AP published stories showing that Justice Sonia Sotomayor, aided by her staff, has advanced sales of her books through college visits over the past decade; that universities have used trips by justices as a lure for financial contributions by placing them in event rooms with wealthy donors, and that justices have taken expenses-paid teaching trips to attractive locations that are light on actual classroom instruction.

The series comes after stories over the past six months that have raised ethical concerns about the activities of the justices. Durbin and other lawmakers in Washington have announced a vote next week on legislation that would require the court to adopt an ethics code. While the measure is unlikely to pass, it sends a signal of discontent about the court.

The nation's highest court operates without an ethics code, instead following what Chief Justice John Roberts has referred to as a set of foundational 바카라 게임 웹사이트�ethics principles and practices.바카라 게임 웹사이트�

Asked Tuesday about the AP stories, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who also sits on the Judiciary Committee, called them 바카라 게임 웹사이트�powerful reports바카라 게임 웹사이트� that amount to a "drip-by-drip-by-drip indictment of a Supreme Court that seems answerable to no one for ethical breaches.

바카라 게임 웹사이트�The chief justice really ought to be taking these into account for the sake the court and the country because the Supreme Court will no longer exist as a truly viable institution if it continues the failure to face the need for a code of ethics,바카라 게임 웹사이트� he said.

In contrast, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, another member of the Judiciary Committee, said he believes Congress should leave the ethics issue to the court and that the Democrats' pursuit of ethics reform 바카라 게임 웹사이트�is part of a long-standing assault against the court that the left feels is undermining a lot of things they바카라 게임 웹사이트�ve accomplished over the years by judicial action. To me, that바카라 게임 웹사이트�s the motivating factor."

바카라 게임 웹사이트�I think it바카라 게임 웹사이트�s a co-equal branch of government we don바카라 게임 웹사이트�t have jurisdiction over. Secondly, I think this is part of a false narrative that the court is out of control and needs Congress to save it,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Cornyn said.

Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis and an expert in legal ethics, said the latest reporting reveals the extent to which "ethics problems at the Supreme Court is an equal opportunity scandal.

바카라 게임 웹사이트�It's not just about Clarence Thomas and (Samuel) Alito,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Clark said, referring to earlier media reporting about the two conservative justices. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�It's an institutional rather than individual problem.바카라 게임 웹사이트�

Senators call for Supreme Court to follow ethics code like other branches of government

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says it's time for Supreme Court justices to bring their conduct in line with the standards of other branches of government.

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