Supreme Court Code of Conduct Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1290 To require the Supreme Court of the United States to issue a code of conduct for the justices of the Supreme Court, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 26, 2023 Mr. KING (for himself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To require the Supreme Court of the United States to issue a code of conduct for the justices of the Supreme Court, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supreme Court Code 4 of Conduct Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. CODE OF CONDUCT FOR JUSTICES OF THE SU- 6 PREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 8 date of enactment of this Act, the Supreme Court of the 9 United States shall, after appropriate public notice and 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1290.IS S1290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1290 IS opportunity for comment in accordance with section 2071 1 of title 28, United States Code, issue a code of conduct 2 for the Chief Justice of the United States and justices of 3 the Supreme Court of the United States. 4 (b) PUBLICATION.—The Supreme Court of the 5 United States shall publish the code of conduct required 6 under subsection (a) on the website of the Supreme Court, 7 which shall be available to the public. 8 (c) DESIGNATED INDIVIDUAL.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Supreme Court of the 10 United States shall designate an individual, includ- 11 ing an employee, to process complaints containing 12 allegations that the Chief Justice of the United 13 States or a justice of the Supreme Court has en- 14 gaged in, or is engaging in, conduct that is— 15 (A) prejudicial to the administration of 16 justice; or 17 (B) in violation of Federal law or the code 18 of conduct established under subsection (a). 19 (2) OBLIGATIONS.—The Chief Justice of the 20 United States and the justices of the Supreme Court 21 of the United States may confer with the designee 22 described in paragraph (1) on the obligations of the 23 Chief Justice or justice, as applicable, under the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1290.IS S1290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1290 IS code of conduct required under subsection (a) and 1 section 455 of title 28, United States Code. 2 (3) REPORT.—The individual designated under 3 paragraph (1) shall publish on the website of the Su- 4 preme Court of the United States a report that de- 5 scribes— 6 (A) the complaints described in paragraph 7 (1), with the names of the complainants 8 anonymized; and 9 (B) any steps taken to remedy the alleged 10 conduct. 11 (4) INVESTIGATIONS.—The Marshal of the Su- 12 preme Court of the United States, after consultation 13 with the Chief Justice of the United States and the 14 designee described in paragraph (1), may commis- 15 sion, on a reimbursable basis, Federal agency per- 16 sonnel who serve in investigative roles, or businesses 17 that contract with the Federal Government to carry 18 out investigative work, to assist the Marshal in car- 19 rying out investigations to determine whether the 20 Chief Justice of the United States, a justice of the 21 Supreme Court, or an employee who reports to a 22 justice of the Supreme Court, as applicable, has en- 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1290.IS S1290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1290 IS gaged in, or is engaging in, conduct described in 1 paragraph (1). 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:15 May 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1290.IS S1290 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS