Reuters
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson supported the idea of “an enforceable code” of ethics for Supreme Court justices as a general concept to promote ethical conduct and transparency among judges. She also expressed her concerns on a previous ruling that bestowed immunity on presidents from lawsuits.
Speaking to CBS’s Noral O’ Donnel Sunday Morning, Jackson said expressed her philosophical alignment with the principle without endorsing any specific implementation or proposal but proposed the legislation in broader terms, Politico reported.
“A binding code of ethics is pretty standard for judges, and so I guess the question is: Is the Supreme Court any different? I guess I have not seen a persuasive reason as to why the court is different,” said Brown.
“I am considering supporting it as a general matter,” she said. “I’m not going to get into commenting on particular policy proposals, but from my perspective, I don’t have any any problem with an enforceable code.”
The debate over the code of ethics in the Supreme Court has been simmering for years but it came to a boil after allegations were levelled against justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito who were alleged to have compromised their moral standards for lavish perks from wealthy donors and special interest groups. These revelations raised many eyebrows on the justices’ impartiality and potential conflicts of interest.
When asked directly about the tips, Jackson tactfully sidestepped the question saying: “I’m not going to comment on other justices’ interpretations of the rules or what they’re doing.”
The “code of ethics” was pitched by President Biden himself during the court’s summer season this year aimed at increasing accountability in the court’s workings. With a clear intention of binding the Supreme Court to an enforceable code of ethics, Biden called for the Congress to align it with the same disclosure rules that apply to other federal judges. This would include requirements for disclosing gifts, financial dealings, and political activities.
Brown had dissented with the Supreme Court ruling that made presidents exempt from trials for some actions. Notably, this ruling hands former President Donald Trump a significant legal victory.
Jackson said she was “concerned about a system that appeared to provide immunity for one individual under one set of circumstances when we had a criminal justice system that had ordinarily treated everyone the same,” per NBC.
