Sponsors (88)
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 substantially increases transparency, standardized ethics rules, and enforceable recusal and oversight mechanisms to reduce conflicts of interest in the federal judiciary—but does so at the cost of significant administrative expense, privacy risks, higher litigation and recusal activity, and potential strains on judicial independence and timely case resolution.
The public, litigants, and taxpayers gain substantially more transparency into the Supreme Court and federal judiciary through published judicial codes, mandatory justice/judge/clerk financial and gift disclosures, amicus-funder reporting, and biennial recusal compliance reports.
Parties and litigants obtain clearer, statutory procedures for recusal and disqualification—including defined disqualifying circumstances, a six-year lookback for certain financial ties, publication of disqualification reasons, and access to randomized three-judge panels—improving consistency and reducing undisclosed conflicts.
The Supreme Court will be subject to a formal code of conduct and disclosure obligations for justices and law clerks, standardizing ethical expectations and aligning the Court more closely with other federal actors.
The bill will impose substantial administrative and compliance costs on courts, the Judicial Conference/FJC, parties, amici, and taxpayers to staff, process, publish, audit, and respond to expanded disclosures and investigations.
Expanded public disclosures risk revealing sensitive financial, donor, and personal information about justices, clerks, amici funders, and donors, raising privacy concerns and potentially chilling legitimate advocacy and contributions.
Creating formal complaint, disclosure, and recusal processes invites politically motivated, strategic, or frivolous filings and disclosure disputes that can politicize the judiciary and burden courts with additional litigation-like proceedings.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Imposes new ethics, disclosure, recusal, and complaint rules for Supreme Court Justices and federal judges and requires amicus funding and gift disclosures.
Creates new statutory ethics, disclosure, recusals, and complaint procedures for the Supreme Court and other federal judges, and strengthens public reporting and audits of recusals and amicus funding. It requires the Supreme Court and Judicial Conference to adopt codes of conduct and complaint processes, forces expanded financial and gift disclosure rules, adds new grounds and procedures for judicial disqualification, and mandates amicus disclosure and administrative reviews. Imposes deadlines for publication and rulemaking (many within 180 days to one year), creates new review panels for recusal motions, requires ongoing studies and GAO review, and directs audits of amicus contributors and public posting of disqualification actions and related materials while allowing redaction for privacy or sensitivity.