I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7426 
To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for the establishment 
of a code of conduct for the justices of the Supreme Court of the 
United States, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 6, 2022 
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Mr. NADLER, Mr. JONES, Mr. 
CICILLINE, and Mr. QUIGLEY) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Com-
mittees on Oversight and Reform, and House Administration, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for the 
establishment of a code of conduct for the justices of 
the Supreme Court of the United States, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘21st Century Courts 
Act of 2022’’. 
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ceeding, or an affiliate of a party or law firm in the 
proceeding made any lobbying contact or spent sub-
stantial funds in support of the nomination, con-
firmation, or appointment of the justice, judge, 
bankruptcy judge, or magistrate judge of the United 
States. 
‘‘(8) Where the justice, judge, bankruptcy 
judge, or magistrate judge of the United States, 
their spouse, child, or spouse of their child has, dur-
ing the 6-year period ending on the date on which 
the justice, judge, bankruptcy judge, or magistrate 
judge of the United States was assigned to the pro-
ceeding— 
‘‘(A) received income, a gift, or reimburse-
ment required to be reported under section 102 
of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 
U.S.C. App.) from, or been employed or volun-
teered for more than 6 consecutive months in 
an official supervisory or advisory capacity for 
a party to the proceeding, a lawyer in the pro-
ceeding, or an affiliate of a party or law firm 
in the proceeding; or 
‘‘(B) been employed or volunteered for 
more than 6 consecutive months in an official 
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‘‘(5) ‘official supervisory or advisory capacity’ 
includes acting as a director, officer, trustee, or any 
other equivalent position; 
‘‘(6) ‘affiliate’ means an entity that effectively 
controls or is controlled by another entity or is asso-
ciated with another entity under common ownership 
or control, regardless of tax status or corporate 
form. Whether an entity is an affiliate of another 
shall be determined under the totality of the cir-
cumstances, including— 
‘‘(A) whether the entities share employees, 
board members, or officers; 
‘‘(B) whether the entities share facilities or 
mailing addresses; 
‘‘(C) whether the entities are related orga-
nizations, as defined by the Internal Revenue 
Service; and 
‘‘(D) any indicia that the 2 entities are 
alter egos or otherwise effectively the same or-
ganization regardless of tax status or corporate 
form; 
‘‘(7) ‘substantial funds’ means an amount of 
money that a reasonable person would consider to be 
significant based on the totality of circumstances, in-
cluding— 
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‘‘(A) the proportion of funds spent relative 
to the revenues or expenditures of the indi-
vidual or entity; 
‘‘(B) the proportion of funds spent relative 
to other known spending in support of the nom-
ination, confirmation, or appointment of the 
justice, judge, bankruptcy judge, or magistrate 
judge of the United States; and 
‘‘(C) any other objective indicia of the sig-
nificance of the financial support of the indi-
vidual or entity for the nomination, confirma-
tion, or appointment of the justice, judge, bank-
ruptcy judge, or magistrate judge of the United 
States.’’; 
(5) in subsection (e)— 
(A) by adding ‘‘bankruptcy judge,’’ after 
‘‘judge,’’; 
(B) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘, 
unless the ground for disqualification arises 
under paragraph (7) of that subsection’’ before 
the period at the end; 
(C) after the second sentence, by adding 
‘‘Where the ground for disqualification arises 
only under subsection (b)(7), waiver may be ac-
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cepted only if offered by all parties to the pro-
ceeding.’’; 
(6) in subsection (f), by inserting ‘‘under sub-
section (b)(4)’’ after ‘‘disqualified’’; and 
(7) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) If a justice, judge, bankruptcy judge, or mag-
istrate judge learns that a condition requiring disqualifica-
tion under this section is present, the justice, judge, bank-
ruptcy judge, or magistrate judge shall— 
‘‘(1) immediately notify all parties to the pro-
ceeding; and 
‘‘(2) include the notification required under 
paragraph (1) in the official record of the pro-
ceeding. 
‘‘(h)(1) A justice, judge, bankruptcy judge, or mag-
istrate judge shall grant or certify to a reviewing panel 
a timely motion filed by a party to the proceeding that 
is accompanied by a certificate of good faith and an affi-
davit alleging facts sufficient to show that disqualification 
of the justice, judge, bankruptcy judge, or magistrate 
judge is required under this section or any other Federal 
law. 
‘‘(2) A reviewing panel described in paragraph (1) 
shall be selected at random from judges of the United 
States who do not sit on the same court as the judge, 
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bankruptcy judge, or magistrate judge who is the subject 
of the motion or as the other members of the reviewing 
panel. No more than 1 member of the reviewing panel may 
be a judge of the same judicial circuit as the judge, bank-
ruptcy judge, or magistrate judge who is the subject of 
the motion. 
‘‘(3) The Supreme Court of the United States shall 
be the reviewing panel for a motion seeking to disqualify 
a justice. 
‘‘(i) The clerk of the applicable court shall publish 
timely notice on the website of the court of— 
‘‘(1) any matter in which a justice, judge, bank-
ruptcy judge, or magistrate judge of the United 
States disqualifies is disqualified under this section; 
‘‘(2) in the case of any matter in which the re-
viewing panel under subsection (h) rules on a motion 
to disqualify; and 
‘‘(3) an explanation of each reason for the dis-
qualification or ruling, which shall include a specific 
identification of each circumstance that resulted in 
disqualification.’’. 
SEC. 4. CONFLICTS RELATED TO AMICI CURIAE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Exception as provided in sub-
section (b), the Supreme Court of the United States and 
the Judicial Conference of the United States shall pre-
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scribe rules of procedure in accordance with sections 2072 
through 2074 of title 28, United States Code, for prohib-
iting the filing of or striking an amicus brief that would 
result in the disqualification of a justice, judge, or mag-
istrate judge. 
(b) INITIAL TRANSMITTAL.—The Supreme Court of 
the United States shall transmit to Congress— 
(1) the proposed rules required under sub-
section (a) not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act; and 
(2) any rules in addition to those transmitted 
under paragraph (1) pursuant to section 2074 of 
title 28, United States Code. 
SEC. 5. AMICUS DISCLOSURE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 111 of title 28, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 1660. Disclosures related to amicus activities 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘covered 
amicus’ means any person, including any affiliate of the 
person, that files an amicus brief in a calendar year in 
the Supreme Court of the United States or a court of ap-
peals of the United States. 
‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any covered amicus that 
files an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the 
United States or a court of appeals of the United 
States shall list in the amicus brief the name of any 
person who— 
‘‘(A) contributed to the preparation or sub-
mission of the amicus brief; 
‘‘(B) contributed not less than 3 percent of 
the gross annual revenue of the covered amicus 
for the previous calendar year if the covered 
amicus is not an individual; or 
‘‘(C) contributed more than $100,000 to 
the covered amicus in the previous calendar 
year. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The requirements of this 
subsection shall not apply to amounts received by a 
covered amicus described in paragraph (1) in com-
mercial transactions in the ordinary course of any 
trade or business conducted by the covered amicus 
or in the form of investments (other than invest-
ments by the principal shareholder in a limited li-
ability corporation) in an organization if the 
amounts are unrelated to the amicus filing activities 
of the covered amicus. 
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