Sponsors (86)
Official title: To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for a code of conduct for justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 20, 2025 by Hank Johnson · Last progress May 20, 2025
The bill raises transparency, enforces stricter recusal and disclosure rules, and creates multiple oversight mechanisms to reduce conflicts and bolster public trust in the federal judiciary — but it does so at the cost of added administrative expense, privacy and donor‑chill risks, greater potential for politicized complaints, and likely increases in recusal filings and litigation delays.
The public (taxpayers, litigants, and the press) will get full-text, searchable, downloadable Supreme Court rules and a formal process to file sworn misconduct complaints, increasing transparency about how the Court operates and how misconduct is handled.
All federal judges, Supreme Court justices, and their clerks will face a statutory code of conduct and standardized financial/gift reporting (using existing 5 U.S.C. definitions), clarifying ethical expectations and reducing confusion about permissible conduct.
Stronger recusal and conflict rules — e.g., disqualification for parties or affiliates who significantly supported a judge's appointment, a 6‑year lookback for certain financial ties, and an affirmative duty to identify household/fiduciary interests — make it harder for biased judges to hear affected cases and increase fairness for litigants.
Courts, justices, clerks, and taxpayers will face measurable new administrative burdens and costs (staff, systems, panels, subpoenas, audits, reporting), increasing operating expenses for the judicial branch and likely raising taxpayer-funded overhead.
Mandatory public disclosures and publication of non‑dismissed investigation materials risk exposing private financial or family information and can cause reputational harm to justices, clerks, donors, and third parties — potentially chilling legitimate privacy-protected activity and donor support.
The new complaint, disclosure, and recusal apparatus could be used strategically or politically (frivolous complaints, disclosure fights, or targeted disclosures) to pressure judges, increase litigation around ethics, and politicize the judiciary’s oversight.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Creates statutory ethics, disclosure, recusal, and complaint procedures for Supreme Court justices and federal judges, plus amicus disclosure and audit rules and recurring compliance studies.
Creates statutory ethics, disclosure, recusal, and complaint procedures for Supreme Court justices and other federal judges, requires new public reporting and amicus disclosure rules, and directs recurring compliance studies and audits. It sets deadlines for codes of conduct and complaint systems, expands grounds and procedures for disqualification, and requires new public disclosure rules for parties and amici in cases that could affect justices. The bill adds new provisions to Title 28 of the U.S. Code to (1) require codes of conduct and complaint processes; (2) expand judicial recusal rules and create a formal process for motions to disqualify judges; (3) require public disclosure of gifts, income, and certain support relating to justices and filings; (4) impose amicus funding disclosures and audits; and (5) mandate recurring FJC studies and GAO reviews of compliance and recusal practices.