II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5395 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to establish an Office of Ethics 

Counsel and an Office of Investigative Counsel within the Supreme 

Court of the United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2024 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. WELCH, Ms. 

BUTLER, and Mr. PADILLA) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to establish an 

Office of Ethics Counsel and an Office of Investigative 

Counsel within the Supreme Court of the United States. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supreme Court Ethics 

5 and Investigations Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF ETHICS COUN2 SEL WITHIN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE 

3 UNITED STATES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 45 of title 28, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘§ 678. Office of Ethics Counsel 

8 ‘‘(a) THE OFFICE OF ETHICS COUNSEL.—The Chief 

9 Justice is authorized to establish an Office of Ethics 

10 Counsel within the Supreme Court of the United States— 

11 ‘‘(1) constituted by one chief ethics counsel who 

12 may employ such officers and employees, subject to 

13 the provisions of title 5, governing appointments in 

14 the competitive service, and the provisions of chapter 

15 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title re16 lating to classification and General Schedule pay 

17 rates; and 

18 ‘‘(2) to advise and provide guidance to justices 

19 of the Supreme Court, and their spouses, on matters 

20 of judicial ethics, including— 

21 ‘‘(A) financial disclosure requirements; 

22 ‘‘(B) the acceptance of gifts; 

23 ‘‘(C) political activity; 

24 ‘‘(D) conflicts of interest and recusal; and 

25 ‘‘(E) the unauthorized disclosure of official 

26 Court documents. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ETHICS COUNSELS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) STAFFING AND COMPENSATION OF COUN3 SELS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) CHIEF ETHICS COUNSEL.—The chief 

5 ethics counsel within the Office of Ethics Coun6 sel— 

7 ‘‘(i) may not be employed by the 

8 Court on the date of enactment of this sec9 tion; 

10 ‘‘(ii) shall be appointed by the Chief 

11 Justice; 

12 ‘‘(iii) shall serve not more than two 6- 

13 year terms; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) shall receive an annual rate of 

15 pay of at least $225,000. 

16 ‘‘(B) OTHER COUNSELS.—Any counsel 

17 other than the chief ethics counsel within the 

18 Office of Ethics Counsel— 

19 ‘‘(i) may not be employed by the 

20 Court on the date of enactment of this sec21 tion; 

22 ‘‘(ii) shall be appointed by the chief 

23 ethics counsel; 

24 ‘‘(iii) shall serve not more than two 6- 

25 year terms; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) shall receive an annual rate of 

2 pay of at least $180,000. 

3 ‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each counsel of the 

4 Office of Ethics Counsel shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) be licensed to practice law in a State 

6 or territory of the United States and a member 

7 of the bar in good standing; and 

8 ‘‘(B) possess at least 5 years of experience 

9 as a practicing attorney. 

10 ‘‘(3) EXPERTISE.—Each counsel shall be an in11 dividual of exceptional public standing who is specifi12 cally qualified to serve within the Office of Ethics 

13 Counsel by virtue of the individual’s education, 

14 training, and experience, as determined by the Chief 

15 Justice. 

16 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION OF COUNSELS.—The em17 ployment of a counsel may only be terminated by the 

18 Chief Justice for cause. 

19 ‘‘(c) TRAINING.—On a biannual basis, the Office of 

20 Ethics Counsel shall provide, and each justice shall take, 

21 a training course on the judicial ethics matters described 

22 in subsection (a)(2). 

23 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—On an annual basis, the chief ethics 

24 counsel shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary 

25 of the House of Representatives and of the Senate a report 


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1 on the ethics advice given by the Office of Ethics Counsel 

2 during the previous year, including— 

3 ‘‘(1) the number of times advice was sought 

4 and given; 

5 ‘‘(2) whether the advice was sought by judicial 

6 officers or by judicial employees; 

7 ‘‘(3) information about the topics covered by 

8 the advice given, including the number of questions 

9 related to gifts, financial disclosures, nonpublic in10 formation, and political activity; 

11 ‘‘(4) the number and types of mitigation meas12 ures that were recommended, including recusal, di13 vestiture, resignation; and 

14 ‘‘(5) the number of times advice described in 

15 this subsection was not followed by the individual to 

16 whom it was given, if known by the Office. 

17 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) The term ‘gift’ means any gratuity, favor, 

19 discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbear20 ance, or other item having monetary value. The term 

21 includes services as well as gifts of training, trans22 portation, local travel, lodgings and meals, whether 

23 provided in-kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in 

24 advance, or reimbursement after the expense has 

25 been incurred. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘political activity’ means political 

2 engagements, such as paid speaking events, fund3 raisers, or donations to political parties, politicians, 

4 political action groups, or endorsements of political 

5 candidates.’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

7 of chapter 45 of title 28, United States Code, is amended 

8 by inserting after the item relating to section 678 the fol9 lowing: 

‘‘678. Office of Ethics Counsel.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF INVESTIGA11 TIVE COUNSEL WITHIN THE SUPREME COURT 

12 OF THE UNITED STATES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 45 of title 28, United 

14 States Code, as amended by this Act, is further amended 

15 by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘§ 679. Office of Investigative Counsel 

17 ‘‘(a) OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIVE COUNSEL.—The 

18 Chief Justice is authorized to establish an Office of Inves19 tigative Counsel within the Supreme Court of the United 

20 States— 

21 ‘‘(1) constituted by one Chief Investigative 

22 Counsel and at least two additional investigative 

23 counsels; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) to review and investigate ethics complaints 

2 against justices arising from their actions or the ac3 tions of their spouses and dependents. 

4 ‘‘(b) INVESTIGATIVE COUNSELS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) STAFFING AND COMPENSATION OF COUN6 SELS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE COUNSEL.— 

8 The Chief Investigative Counsel— 

9 ‘‘(i) may not be employed by the court 

10 on the date of enactment of this section; 

11 ‘‘(ii) shall be appointed by the Chief 

12 Justice; 

13 ‘‘(iii) shall serve not more than one 6- 

14 year term; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) shall receive an annual rate of 

16 pay of at least $225,000. 

17 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATIVE COUN18 SELS.—The investigative counsels— 

19 ‘‘(i) may not be employed by the court 

20 on the date of enactment of this section; 

21 ‘‘(ii) shall be appointed by the Chief 

22 Investigative Counsel; 

23 ‘‘(iii) shall serve at the pleasure of the 

24 Chief Investigative Counsel; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) shall receive an annual rate of 

2 pay of at least $180,000. 

3 ‘‘(C) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each investigative 

4 counsel of the Office of Investigative Counsel 

5 shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) be licensed to practice law in a 

7 State or territory of the United States and 

8 a member of the bar in good standing; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) possess at least 7 years of experi10 ence as a practicing attorney. 

11 ‘‘(D) EXPERTISE.—Each investigative 

12 counsel and the Chief Investigative Counsel 

13 shall be an individual of exceptional public 

14 standing who is specifically qualified to serve 

15 within the Office of Investigative Counsel by 

16 virtue of the individual’s education, training, 

17 and experience. 

18 ‘‘(E) TERMINATION OF COUNSELS.—The 

19 employment of the Chief Investigative Counsel 

20 may only be terminated by the Chief Justice for 

21 cause. 

22 ‘‘(2) SUBPOENA POWER.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the discharge of 

24 their duties, the Chief Investigative Counsel 

25 shall have the authority to issue subpoenas to 


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1 compel witnesses to appear and testify and to 

2 produce books, papers, correspondence, memo3 randa, documents, or other relevant records. 

4 The Chief Investigative Counsel may issue sub5 poenas requiring the attendance and testimony 

6 of witnesses and the production of any evidence 

7 relating to any matter under investigation by 

8 the Office of Investigative Counsel, which the 

9 Office is empowered to investigate by this sec10 tion. The attendance of witnesses and the pro11 duction of evidence may be required from any 

12 place within the United States at any des13 ignated place of hearing within the United 

14 States. 

15 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If 

16 a person refuses to obey a subpoena issued 

17 under subparagraph (A), the Chief Investigative 

18 Counsel may apply to a United States district 

19 court for an order requiring that person to ap20 pear before the Office of Investigative Counsel 

21 to give testimony, produce evidence, or both, re22 lating to the matter under investigation. The 

23 application may be made within the judicial dis24 trict where the hearing is conducted or where 

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1 ness. Any failure to obey the order of the court 

2 shall be punishable by contempt of court. 

3 ‘‘(C) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The sub4 poenas of the Office of Investigative Counsel 

5 shall be served in the manner provided for sub6 poenas issued by a United States district court 

7 under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for 

8 the United States district courts. 

9 ‘‘(D) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process 

10 of any court to which application is made under 

11 subparagraph (B) may be served in the judicial 

12 district in which the person required to be 

13 served resides or may be found. 

14 ‘‘(c) ETHICS COMPLAINTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) FILING.—An ethics complaint against a 

16 justice may be filed with the Office of Investigate 

17 Counsel by— 

18 ‘‘(A) the chair or ranking minority member 

19 of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 

20 of Representatives or of the Senate; 

21 ‘‘(B) the majority leader or minority leader 

22 of the Senate; or 

23 ‘‘(C) the Speaker or the minority leader of 

24 the House of Representatives. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REVIEW.—Not later than 60 days after an 

2 ethics complaint is filed under paragraph (1), the 

3 Office of Investigative Counsel shall review the com4 plaint and determine whether a full investigation is 

5 appropriate. In making a determination under this 

6 paragraph, the Office shall consider whether the al7 leged behavior of a justice violates the Code of Con8 duct of the Supreme Court, the Judicial Code of 

9 Conduct, or any applicable law or regulation. Upon 

10 making a determination under this paragraph, the 

11 chief counsel shall respond to each ethics complaint 

12 filed under paragraph (1), regardless of whether the 

13 Office of Investigative Counsel determines that an 

14 investigation is appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(3) INVESTIGATION.—If the Office determines 

16 that a full investigation is appropriate, it shall open 

17 the investigation not later than 15 days after mak18 ing such determination. 

19 ‘‘(4) REPORTING.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Inves21 tigative Counsel shall submit to the Chief Jus22 tice a report containing its findings and rec23 ommendations about an ethics complaint filed 

24 under paragraph (2) (including in the case of a 

25 complaint with respect to which the Office deVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:44 Dec 05, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5395.IS S5395

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1 termines that no violation has occurred), except 

2 that in the case of an ethics complaint with re3 spect to which the Chief Justice is the subject, 

4 the Office shall deliver such report to the most 

5 senior associate justice. 

6 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—A report under sub7 paragraph (A) shall include— 

8 ‘‘(i) each violation of the Code of Con9 duct for the Supreme Court committed by 

10 the justice who was the subject of the in11 vestigation under paragraph (3), including 

12 any such violation that arose as a result of 

13 the actions of a spouse or dependant of the 

14 justice; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) substantive and actionable rec16 ommendations from the Office of Inves17 tigative Counsel including recusal, divest18 ment and neutralization conflicts of inter19 est, and other remedies. 

20 ‘‘(C) PUBLICATION.— 

21 ‘‘(i) CHIEF JUSTICE.—The Chief Jus22 tice may, in his sole discretion, release to 

23 the public a report received under subpara24 graph (A), but may not alter such a report 

25 in any way, except to redact any classified 


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1 or personally identifiable information. In 

2 the case of an ethics complaint with re3 spect to which the Chief Justice is the sub4 ject, the most senior associate justice is 

5 authorized to carry out this clause. 

6 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY TO CONGRESS.— 

7 Not later than 10 days after completing a 

8 report under subparagraph (A), the Office 

9 of Investigative Counsel shall make the re10 port available to— 

11 ‘‘(I) the Committees on the Judi12 ciary of the House of Representatives 

13 and of the Senate; 

14 ‘‘(II) the Committee on Oversight 

15 and Accountability of the House of 

16 Representatives; and 

17 ‘‘(III) the Committee on Home18 land Security and Governmental Af19 fairs of the Senate. 

20 ‘‘(iii) DUTY TO INFORM THE ATTOR21 NEY GENERAL.—In carrying out the duties 

22 of the Office, the Investigative Counsel 

23 shall report expeditiously to the Attorney 

24 General whenever the Investigative Counsel 


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1 has reasonable grounds to believe there has 

2 been a violation of Federal criminal law.’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

4 of chapter 45 of title 28, United States Code, is amended 

5 by inserting after the item relating to section 678, as 

6 added by section 2, the following: 

‘‘679. Office of Investigative Counsel.’’. 

7 SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 

8 If any provision of this Act, or any application of such 

9 provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be un10 constitutional, the remainder of this Act and the applica11 tion of this Act to any other person or circumstance shall 

12 not be affected. 

Æ 


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