Last progress May 20, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on May 20, 2025 by Hank Johnson
Creates binding ethics and transparency rules for the Supreme Court and the rest of the federal judiciary. It requires published codes of conduct, new disclosure rules for gifts and outside payments, stronger recusal/disqualification rules and a process to challenge judges for conflicts, mandatory disclosures for parties and amici about payments and lobbying, audits of amicus filings, and a study and periodic GAO review of judicial recusal compliance.
The Supreme Court must, not later than 180 days after enactment, issue a code of conduct for the justices after appropriate public notice and opportunity for comment under section 2071.
The Judicial Conference of the United States must, not later than 180 days after enactment, issue a code of conduct for judges of the courts of appeals, the district courts (including bankruptcy and magistrate judges), and the Court of International Trade after appropriate public notice and opportunity for comment under section 2071.
The Supreme Court and the Judicial Conference may modify the codes of conduct after giving appropriate public notice and opportunity for comment under section 2071.
The Supreme Court must make the code issued under section 365(a), rules established by the Counselor to the Chief Justice under section 677, and other related rules or resolutions available on its website in full-text, searchable, sortable, and downloadable format, as determined by the Chief Justice.
Not later than 180 days after enactment, the Supreme Court must establish procedures (modeled after sections 351–364) under which individuals may file, or the Court may identify, complaints alleging that a justice violated the Supreme Court code of conduct, 28 U.S.C. section 455, or any other federal law, or otherwise engaged in conduct that undermines the Court's integrity.
Primary effects:
Justices, federal judges, magistrate judges, and bankruptcy judges: face new ethics and recusal rules, reporting and public-notice obligations, and checks on financial conflicts. They may see increased administrative tasks and more formal challenges to their participation in cases.
Supreme Court law clerks: become subject to disclosure rules tied to gifts, income, and reimbursements that relate to a Justice.
Parties, amici, and funders: must disclose funding, gifts, and certain lobbying tied to Supreme Court litigation and must identify who prepared or funded amicus briefs; this increases reporting burdens and may deter some third‑party spending or require more bookkeeping.
Courts and judicial administration (Judicial Conference, Administrative Office, Federal Judicial Center): take on new rulemaking, auditing, recordkeeping, and reporting duties; these offices will need staff time and possibly additional resources to implement audits, post notices online, and manage complaint processes.
Litigants and courts: can expect more filings seeking disqualification and formal review by special panels, which could delay case scheduling and increase litigation costs.
Potential benefits:
Potential risks and tradeoffs:
Overall, the bill increases transparency and accountability but also raises operational burdens and possible legal and political contestation over enforcement and scope.
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Updated 2 days ago
Last progress May 20, 2025 (8 months ago)
