II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4188 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for a code of conduct 

for justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11 (legislative day, MAY 10), 2022 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. LEAHY, and Mr. SCHATZ) 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 provide for a 

code of conduct for justices of the Supreme Court of 

the United States, 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 ‘‘Supreme Court Ethics, 

5 Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2022’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE SUPREME COURT OF 

2 THE UNITED STATES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 16 of title 28, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 365. Codes of conduct 

7 ‘‘(a) Not later than 180 days after the date of enact8 ment of this section, the Supreme Court of the United 

9 States shall, after appropriate public notice and oppor10 tunity for comment in accordance with section 2071, issue 

11 a code of conduct for the justices and employees of the 

12 Supreme Court. 

13 ‘‘(b) Not later than 180 days after the date of enact14 ment of this section, the Judicial Conference of the United 

15 States shall, after appropriate public notice and oppor16 tunity for comment in accordance with section 2071, issue 

17 a code of conduct for the judges and employees of the 

18 courts of appeals, the district courts (including bankruptcy 

19 judges and magistrate judges), and the Court of Inter20 national Trade. 

21 ‘‘(c) The Supreme Court of the United States and 

22 the Judicial Conference may modify the applicable codes 

23 of conduct under this section after giving appropriate pub24 lic notice and opportunity for comment in accordance with 

25 section 2071.’’. 


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1 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

2 The table of sections for chapter 16 of title 28, United 

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

‘‘365. Codes of conduct.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. MINIMUM GIFT, TRAVEL, AND INCOME DISCLOSURE 

6 STANDARDS FOR JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME 

7 COURT. 

8 Section 677 of title 28, United States Code, is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(d) The Counselor, with the approval of the Chief 

11 Justice, shall establish rules governing the disclosure of 

12 all gifts, travel, and income received by any justice and 

13 any law clerk to a justice. Such rules shall at minimum 

14 require disclosure of any information concerning gifts, 

15 travel, and income required to be disclosed under the 

16 Standing Rules of the Senate and the Rules of the House 

17 of Representatives.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. CIRCUMSTANCES REQUIRING DISQUALIFICATION. 

19 (a) ANTICORRUPTION PROTECTIONS.—Subsection 

20 (b) of section 455 of title 28, United States Code, is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(6) Where the justice or judge knows that a 

23 party to the proceeding or an affiliate of a party to 

24 the proceeding made any lobbying contact or spent 


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1 substantial funds in support of the nomination, con2 firmation, or appointment of the justice or judge. 

3 ‘‘(7) Where the justice or judge, their spouse, 

4 minor child, or a privately held entity owned by any 

5 such person— 

6 ‘‘(A) received income, a gift, or reimburse7 ment (as such terms are defined in the section 

8 109 of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 

9 (5 U.S.C. App.)) from a party to the proceeding 

10 or an affiliate of a party to the proceeding; and 

11 ‘‘(B) such receipt occurred during the pe12 riod beginning 6 years prior to the date on 

13 which the justice or judge was assigned to the 

14 proceeding and ending on the date of final dis15 position of the proceeding.’’. 

16 (b) DUTY TO KNOW.—Subsection (c) of section 455 

17 of title 28, United States Code, is amended to read as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘(c) A justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy 

20 judge of the United States shall ascertain— 

21 ‘‘(1) the personal and fiduciary financial inter22 ests of the justice or judge; 

23 ‘‘(2) the personal financial interests of the 

24 spouse and minor children residing in the household 

25 of the justice or judge; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) any interest of such persons that could be 

2 substantially affected by the outcome of the pro3 ceeding.’’. 

4 (c) DIVESTMENT.—Subsection (f) of section 455 of 

5 title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

6 ‘‘under subsection (b)(4)’’ after ‘‘disqualified’’. 

7 (d) DUTY TO NOTIFY.—Section 455 of title 28, 

8 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(g) If at any time a justice, judge, magistrate judge, 

11 or bankruptcy judge of the United States learns of a con12 dition that could reasonably require disqualification under 

13 this section, the justice or judge shall immediately notify 

14 all parties to the proceeding.’’. 

15 (e) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

16 Section 455 of title 28, United States Code, as amended 

17 by this section, is further amended— 

18 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘judge, 

19 or magistrate judge’’ and inserting ‘‘judge, mag20 istrate judge, or bankruptcy judge’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘judge, or 

22 magistrate judge’’ and inserting ‘‘judge, magistrate 

23 judge, or bankruptcy judge’’; 

24 (3) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the 

2 judge or such lawyer’’ and inserting ‘‘the jus3 tice, the judge, or such lawyer’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (5)(iii), by inserting 

5 ‘‘justice or’’ before ‘‘judge’’; and 

6 (C) in paragraph (5)(iv), by inserting ‘‘jus7 tice’s or’’ before ‘‘judge’s’’; 

8 (4) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘justice or’’ 

9 before ‘‘judge’’; 

10 (5) in subsection (d)(4)(i), by inserting ‘‘justice 

11 or’’ before ‘‘judge’’; and 

12 (6) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘judge, or 

13 magistrate judge’’ and inserting ‘‘judge, magistrate 

14 judge, or bankruptcy judge of the United States’’. 

15 (f) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The rules of each court subject 

16 to section 455 of title 28, United States Code, as amended 

17 by this Act, shall be amended to require that the clerk 

18 shall publish timely notice on the website of the court of— 

19 (1) any matter in which a justice, judge, mag20 istrate judge, or bankruptcy judge of the United 

21 States is disqualified under such section; 

22 (2) any matter in which the reviewing panel 

23 under section 1660 of title 28, United States Code, 

24 rules on a motion to disqualify; and 


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1 (3) an explanation of each reason for the dis2 qualification or ruling, which shall include a specific 

3 identification of each circumstance that resulted in 

4 such disqualification or ruling. 

5 SEC. 5. REVIEW OF CERTIFIED DISQUALIFICATION MO6 TIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 111 of title 28, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘§ 1660. Review of certified motions to disqualify 

11 ‘‘(a) MOTION FOR DISQUALIFICATION.—If a justice, 

12 judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge of the 

13 United States is required to be disqualified from a pro14 ceeding under any provision of Federal law, a party to 

15 the proceeding may file a timely motion for disqualifica16 tion, accompanied by a certificate of good faith and an 

17 affidavit alleging facts sufficient to show that disqualifica18 tion of the justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy 

19 judge is so required. 

20 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATION OF MOTION.—A justice, judge, 

21 magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge of the United 

22 States shall either grant or certify to a reviewing panel 

23 a timely motion filed pursuant to subsection (a) and stay 

24 the proceeding until a final determination is made with 

25 respect to the motion. 


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1 ‘‘(c) REVIEWING PANEL.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A reviewing panel to which 

3 a motion is certified under subsection (b) shall be 

4 selected at random from judges of the United States 

5 who do not sit on the same court— 

6 ‘‘(A) as the judge, magistrate judge, or 

7 bankruptcy judge who is the subject of the mo8 tion; or 

9 ‘‘(B) as the other members of the review10 ing panel. 

11 ‘‘(2) CIRCUIT LIMITATION.—Not more than 1 

12 member of the reviewing panel may be a judge of 

13 the same judicial circuit as the judge, magistrate 

14 judge, or bankruptcy judge who is the subject of the 

15 motion. 

16 ‘‘(d) SUPREME COURT REVIEW.—The Supreme 

17 Court of the United States shall be the reviewing panel 

18 for a motion seeking to disqualify a justice.’’. 

19 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

20 The table of sections for chapter 111 of title 28, United 

21 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

‘‘1660. Review of certified motions to disqualify.’’. 

23 SEC. 6. DISCLOSURE BY PARTIES AND AMICI. 

24 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Supreme Court of the United States shall 


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1 prescribe rules of procedure in accordance with sections 

2 2072 through 2074 of title 28, United States Code, requir3 ing each party or amicus to list in their petition or brief 

4 a description and value of— 

5 (1) any gift, income, or reimbursement (as such 

6 terms are defined in section 109 of the Ethics in 

7 Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.)) provided 

8 to any justice during the period beginning 2 years 

9 prior to the commencement of the proceeding and 

10 ending on the date of final disposition of the pro11 ceeding by— 

12 (A) each such party or amicus, or their af13 filiates; 

14 (B) the lawyers or law firms in the pro15 ceeding of each such party or amicus; and 

16 (C) the officers, directors, or employees of 

17 each such party or amicus; and 

18 (2) any lobbying contact or expenditure of sub19 stantial funds by any person described in subpara20 graphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (1) in sup21 port of the nomination, confirmation, or appoint22 ment of a justice. 


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1 SEC. 7. AMICUS DISCLOSURE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 111 of title 28, United 

3 States Code, as amended by section 5, is further amended 

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 1661. Disclosures related to amicus activities 

6 ‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person that files an 

8 amicus brief in a court of the United States shall 

9 list in the amicus brief the name of any person 

10 who— 

11 ‘‘(A) contributed to the preparation or sub12 mission of the amicus brief; 

13 ‘‘(B) contributed not less than 3 percent of 

14 the gross annual revenue of the amicus, or an 

15 affiliate of the amicus, for the previous calendar 

16 year if the amicus is not an individual; or 

17 ‘‘(C) contributed more than $100,000 to 

18 the amicus, or an affiliate of the amicus, in the 

19 previous calendar year. 

20 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirements of this 

21 subsection shall not apply to amounts received in 

22 commercial transactions in the ordinary course of 

23 any trade or business by the amicus, or an affiliate 

24 of the amicus, or in the form of investments (other 

25 than investments by the principal shareholder in a 

26 limited liability corporation) in an organization if the 


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1 amounts are unrelated to the amicus filing activities 

2 of the amicus. 

3 ‘‘(b) AUDIT.—The Director of the Administrative Of4 fice of the United States Courts shall conduct an annual 

5 audit to ensure compliance with this section.’’. 

6 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

7 The table of sections for chapter 111 of title 28, United 

8 States Code, as amended by section 5, is further amended 

9 by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘1661. Disclosures related to amicus activities.’’. 

10 SEC. 8. CONFLICTS RELATED TO AMICI CURIAE. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

12 (b), the Supreme Court of the United States and the Judi13 cial Conference of the United States shall prescribe rules 

14 of procedure in accordance with sections 2072 through 

15 2074 of title 28, United States Code, for prohibiting the 

16 filing of or striking an amicus brief that would result in 

17 the disqualification of a justice, judge, or magistrate 

18 judge. 

19 (b) INITIAL TRANSMITTAL.—The Supreme Court of 

20 the United States shall transmit to Congress— 

21 (1) the proposed rules required under sub22 section (a) not later than 180 days after the date of 

23 enactment of this Act; and 


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1 (2) any rules in addition to those transmitted 

2 under paragraph (1) pursuant to section 2074 of 

3 title 28, United States Code. 

4 SEC. 9. STUDIES AND EVALUATIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31, 

6 2022, and every other year thereafter, the Director of the 

7 Federal Judicial Center shall conduct a study on the ex8 tent of compliance or noncompliance with the require9 ments of sections 144 and 455 of title 28, United States 

10 Code. 

11 (b) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than April 

12 1 of each year following the completion of the study re13 quired under subsection (a), the Director of the Federal 

14 Judicial Center shall submit to Congress a report con15 taining the findings of the study and any recommenda16 tions to improve compliance with sections 144 and 455 

17 of title 28, United States Code. 

18 (c) FACILITATION OF STUDIES.—The Director of the 

19 Federal Judicial Center shall maintain a record of each 

20 instance in which— 

21 (1) a justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bank22 ruptcy judge of the United States was not assigned 

23 to a case due to potential or actual conflicts; and 


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1 (2) a justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bank2 ruptcy judge of the United States disqualifies after 

3 a case assignment is made. 

4 (d) GAO REVIEW.—Not later than 1 year after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, and every 5 years there6 after, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

7 submit to Congress a report containing an evaluation of 

8 the methodology and findings of the study required under 

9 subsection (a) and the audit required under section 1661 

10 of title 28, United States Code, as added by section 7 of 

11 this Act. 

Æ 


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