I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8830 

To prohibit Federal judges from receiving gifts valued over $50 in an instance 

or $100 in the aggregate in a year from a source unless excepted, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 25, 2024 

Mr. RASKIN (for himself, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Mr. CARSON, 

Mr. CASTEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. CRAIG, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California, Mr. 

GOLDMAN of New York, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Ms. 

NORTON, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. POCAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Ms. 

SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. 

SWALWELL, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TONKO, Mr. TORRES of New York, Ms. 

WILLIAMS of Georgia, and Mr. MULLIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prohibit Federal judges from receiving gifts valued over 

$50 in an instance or $100 in the aggregate in a year 

from a source unless excepted, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘High Court Gift Ban 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON GIFTS. 

2 Subchapter V of Chapter 73 of title 5, United States 

3 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘§ 7354. Gifts to Federal judges 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—A judicial officer may not 

7 accept a gift from any source unless— 

8 ‘‘(A) the judicial officer reasonably and in 

9 good faith believes the gift has a value of less 

10 than $50; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the aggregate value of gifts the judi12 cial officer has received from the source in that 

13 calendar year is $100 or less, inclusive of the 

14 present gift. 

15 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The prohibition under 

16 paragraph (1) does not apply to any of the following 

17 circumstances: 

18 ‘‘(A) Anything for which the judicial offi19 cer pays the fair market value. 

20 ‘‘(B) Anything for which the judicial offi21 cer does not use and promptly returns to the 

22 person who provided the gift to the judicial offi23 cer. 

24 ‘‘(C) A gift from a relative. 

25 ‘‘(D) A gift from another judicial officer. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Honorary degrees (and associated 

2 travel, food, refreshments, and entertainment) 

3 and other bona fide, nonmonetary awards pre4 sented in recognition of public service (and as5 sociated food, refreshments, and entertainment 

6 provided in the presentation of such degrees 

7 and awards) paid for by an educational institu8 tion so long as only the educational institution 

9 pays for, or sponsors, the award and invites the 

10 judicial officer. 

11 ‘‘(F) Opportunities and benefits that are— 

12 ‘‘(i) available to the public or to a 

13 class consisting of all Federal employees; 

14 ‘‘(ii) offered to members of a group or 

15 class for which membership in such group 

16 or class is unrelated to service as a judicial 

17 officer; 

18 ‘‘(iii) offered to members of an orga19 nization open to all judicial officers; 

20 ‘‘(iv) in the form of loans from banks 

21 and other financial institutions on terms 

22 generally available to the public; or 

23 ‘‘(v) in the form of a reduction in 

24 membership fees or fees for participation 

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1 duction is offered to all Federal employees 

2 and such organization is a professional or3 ganization in which its membership is sole4 ly contingent on professional qualifications 

5 of the prospective member. 

6 ‘‘(G) Reimbursement for reasonable ex7 penses for transportation, food, lodging, and en8 tertainment at a seminar or event relating to 

9 the law, the legal system, or the administration 

10 of justice so long as— 

11 ‘‘(i) the judicial officer was not invited 

12 to the seminar or event by a prohibited 

13 source; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the seminar or event is not orga15 nized, paid for, or sponsored by a prohib16 ited source; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) the total amount of reimburse18 ment for the seminar or event is— 

19 ‘‘(I) $2,000 or less; or 

20 ‘‘(II) greater than $2,000 if such 

21 judicial officer received a written 

22 waiver from the Chief Justice of the 

23 United States (in the case of a jus24 tice) or the chief judge of the circuit 


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1 or district of such officer (in the case 

2 of a judge). 

3 ‘‘(H) Personal hospitality from an indi4 vidual, who is not a prohibited source, in an 

5 amount that does not exceed the dollar amount 

6 established under paragraph (1) of section 

7 2503(b)(as adjusted under paragraph (2) of 

8 such section) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

9 1986 (26 U.S.C. 2503(b)) with respect to such 

10 calendar year. 

11 ‘‘(3) GIFTS TO RELATIVES.—A gift to a relative 

12 of the judicial officer shall be considered a gift to 

13 the judicial officer if— 

14 ‘‘(A) it is given with the knowledge and ac15 quiescence of the judicial officer; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the judicial officer has reason to be17 lieve the gift was given because of the official 

18 position of the judicial officer. 

19 ‘‘(b) ENFORCEMENT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) REFERRAL.— 

21 ‘‘(A) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Judicial 

22 Conference, or any official designated by the 

23 Supreme Court or Congress to assist the jus24 tices in maintaining compliance with the Code 

25 of Conduct for Justices of the Supreme Court 


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1 of the United States issued by the Court on No2 vember 13, 2023, or any successor rules or reg3 ulations governing ethical or conduct standards 

4 for justices, shall refer to the Attorney General 

5 the name of any individual who the Conference 

6 or the official has reasonable cause to believe 

7 has accepted a gift prohibited by this section or 

8 any other law or regulation. 

9 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION OF REFERRAL.— 

10 Whenever the Judicial Conference refers a judi11 cial officer to the Attorney General under this 

12 subsection, the Conference shall notify the judi13 cial council of the circuit in which such referred 

14 judicial officer serves. 

15 ‘‘(2) PENALTIES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) CIVIL PENALTIES.—The Attorney 

17 General may bring a civil action in any appro18 priate United States district court for a viola19 tion of this section, the penalties for which shall 

20 be the same as the penalties for violating sec21 tion 13104 which are described in section 

22 13106. 

23 ‘‘(B) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—In the case 

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1 section, the criminal penalties set forth in sec2 tion 13106(a)(2) shall apply. 

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

4 ‘‘(1) GIFT.—The term ‘gift’ means any gra5 tuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, 

6 loan, forbearance, or other item having monetary 

7 value (including services, transportation, local travel, 

8 lodgings, and meals) whether provided in-kind, by 

9 purchase of a ticket, payment in advance, or reim10 bursement after the expense has been incurred. 

11 ‘‘(2) JUDICIAL OFFICER.—The term ‘judicial 

12 officer’ has the meaning given that term in section 

13 13101. 

14 ‘‘(3) PERSONAL HOSPITALITY FROM AN INDI15 VIDUAL.—The term ‘personal hospitality from an in16 dividual’ means hospitality extended— 

17 ‘‘(A) by an individual for a nonbusiness 

18 purpose; 

19 ‘‘(B) at the personal residence, property, 

20 or facilities owned by the individual or the indi21 vidual’s family; 

22 ‘‘(C) without payment or reimbursement 

23 from any other person (except the judicial offi24 cer or a relative of the judicial officer) for such 

25 hospitality; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) with the individual or the individual’s 

2 family present on the property at the time in 

3 which a judicial officer is being hosted. 

4 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITED SOURCE.—The term ‘prohib5 ited source’ means any person— 

6 ‘‘(A) who has, or is likely to, come before 

7 the judicial officer; or 

8 ‘‘(B) whose interests have, or are likely to, 

9 come before the judicial officer. 

10 ‘‘(5) RELATIVE.—The term ‘relative’ has the 

11 meaning given that term in section 13101. 

12 ‘‘(f) IMPLEMENTATION.—Within 180 days of the en13 actment of the , the Supreme Court of the United States 

14 and the Judicial Conference of the United States shall 

15 each promulgate regulations to carry out this section and 

16 ensure compliance. 

17 ‘‘(g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec18 tion shall be construed to make it permissible for a judicial 

19 officer to accept a gift or other item of value that the judi20 cial officer is prohibited from accepting under any other 

21 law, rule, or regulation.’’. 

Æ 


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