I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1960 

To require the Supreme Court of the United States to promulgate a code 

of ethics. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 5, 2017 

Ms. SLAUGHTER (for herself, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. 

BROWNLEY of California, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. COSTA, Mr. 

CROWLEY, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. KELLY

of Illinois, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. MICHELLE

LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. SCOTT

of Virginia, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Ms. TSONGAS, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, and Mr. YARMUTH) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require the Supreme Court of the United States to 

promulgate a code of ethics. 

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 Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) In Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., 556 

2 U.S. 868 (2009), Justice Kennedy, writing for the 

3 Court, stated that ‘‘[judicial codes of conduct] serve 

4 to maintain the integrity of the judiciary and the 

5 rule of law’’. 

6 (2) The Code of Conduct for United States 

7 Judges (referred to in this subsection as the 

8 ‘‘Code’’) applies to all Federal judges except Justices 

9 of the Supreme Court. Justices of the Supreme 

10 Court are not formally bound by any code of con11 duct. Chief Justice John Roberts noted in the 2011 

12 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary that 

13 while the Judicial Conference, which promulgates 

14 the Code, does not have authority to bind the Su15 preme Court, the Code is nonetheless ‘‘the starting 

16 point and a key source of guidance for the Justices 

17 as well as their lower court colleagues’’. 

18 (3) Congress has the authority to regulate the 

19 administration of the Supreme Court of the United 

20 States. For example, Congress sets the number of 

21 justices who sit on the Supreme Court and how 

22 many constitute a quorum, the term of the court, 

23 meaning the dates the court will be in session, and 

24 the salaries of the Justices. Additionally, the Ethics 

25 in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) requires 


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1 most high-level Federal officials in all 3 branches, 

2 including the President, Vice President, cabinet 

3 members, Justices of the Supreme Court, and Mem4 bers of Congress, to file annual financial disclosure 

5 statements. 

6 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to apply 

7 a code of ethics to Justices who sit on the Supreme Court 

8 of the United States, being mindful of their preeminence 

9 in the Federal judiciary. 

10 SEC. 3. SUPREME COURT CODE OF ETHICS. 

11 The Supreme Court of the United States shall, not 

12 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

13 this Act, promulgate a code of ethics for the Justices of 

14 the Supreme Court that shall include the 5 canons of the 

15 Code of Conduct for United States Judges adopted by the 

16 Judicial Conference of the United States, with any amend17 ments or modifications thereto that the Supreme Court 

18 determines appropriate. 

Æ 


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