Sponsors (61)
Introduced May 20, 2025 by Hank Johnson · Last progress May 20, 2025
The bill increases transparency and accountability of the federal judiciary—especially the Supreme Court—through disclosures, complaint processes, and standardized recusal rules, but it also raises taxpayer costs, privacy and separation‑of‑powers concerns, potential delays in litigation, and the risk of chilling donor and amicus participation.
All Americans gain greater transparency into Supreme Court conduct because the Court must publish a full-text, searchable code of conduct and the bill requires increased public disclosures about justices' gifts, income, and potential conflicts.
Parties and the public gain stronger accountability mechanisms because citizens can file complaints about Justices and independent panels (and other appeals panels) with investigatory and subpoena authority will review misconduct and recusal disputes.
Litigants and courts benefit from clearer, standardized rules on judicial recusals and disqualifications (including household/fiduciary disclosure, immediate notification, and published explanations), reducing appearance-of-bias and giving parties clearer grounds to seek recusal.
Taxpayers and the federal judiciary will face increased costs because new complaint processes, investigatory panels, audits, recordkeeping, and disclosure systems require staffing and administrative spending.
Nonprofits, donors, and public-interest litigants may reduce participation because required disclosures of funders and contributors can chill speech, prompt donor withdrawal or anonymization, and shrink funding for amicus and advocacy activity.
The measures create separation‑of‑powers and judicial independence risks by subjecting the Supreme Court to new rulemaking, investigations, and GAO access, which critics may view as encroaching on judicial autonomy.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Creates a statutory framework to require written ethics rules, disclosures, and recusal procedures for the Supreme Court and other federal judges, and establishes new complaint, disqualification, amicus‑disclosure, and audit requirements. It directs the Supreme Court and the Judicial Conference to issue codes of conduct and complaint processes within set deadlines, expands mandatory disqualification standards, creates a procedure for motions to disqualify judges, requires parties and amici to disclose payments and gifts to Justices, and orders repeated studies and audits of compliance.