Justice Amy Coney Barrett says it would be a "good idea" for Supreme Court to adopt ethics rules

Washington — Justice Amy Coney Barrett indicated Monday that she is in favor of the Supreme Court adopting a code of conduct, saying she believes doing so would be a "good idea" and show the public what is taking place at the nation's highest court.

With her support, Barrett joins several of her colleagues who have publicly backed a set of formal ethics rules for the Supreme Court amid pressure from Congress for the court to lay out a binding set of policies.

"I think it would be a good idea for us to do it, particularly so that we can communicate to the public exactly what it is that we're doing in a clearer way than perhaps we have been able to do so far," Barrett said during an event at the University of Minnesota Law School when asked whether she favors an ethics code.

Barrett continued: "There is unanimity among all nine justices that we should and do hold ourselves to the highest standards, highest ethical standards possible."

Scrutiny of Supreme Court ethics

The Supreme Court has faced scrutiny from the Senate over its lack of a code of conduct following a series of reports about lavish trips Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito accepted, and questions about participation by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch in cases involving their book publishers.

The news outlet ProPublica published a series of reports this summer about the relationship between Justice Clarence Thomas and GOP mega-donor Harlan Crow and found the justice accepted trips aboard Crow's private jet and yacht, and vacationed with the Texas real estate developer, but did not disclose the travel. ProPublica also found Alito flew aboard a private jet provided by hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer to Alaska for a luxury fishing trip. 

Both justices said they were not required to disclose the trips. However, in his financial disclosure report for 2022, Thomas included details about a real estate transaction with Crow for three Georgia properties he purchased from Thomas and his family in 2014. Thomas' report also listed travel aboard Crow's private plane and a stay at his property in the Adirondacks last year. The new disclosures, made public in late August, came after the Judicial Conference adopted new guidelines for what is considered personal hospitality. 

In response to the revelations, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced legislation that would require the Supreme Court to adopt a code of conduct for the justices and implement procedures to handle complaints of judicial misconduct. Committee Chairman Dick Durbin also requested Chief Justice John Roberts answer questions before the panel about ethics principles, though he declined the invitation.

Roberts instead provided the Senate with a three page "Statement of Ethics Principles and Practices" signed by the nine sitting justices, which he said they all follow.

Amid the growing calls for the Supreme Court to put in place a conduct code, Roberts in May said there is more the high court can do to "adhere to the highest standards" of ethical conduct and said the justices "are continuing to look at the things we can do to give practical effect to that commitment."

Justice Elena Kagan in August said she supports the Supreme Court taking action to adopt formal ethics rules and noted the justices have been discussing the matter. But she said there are a "variety of views" among the nine members. 

"I hope that we will make some progress in this area of the kind that the chief justice talked about and maybe put the question of what can Congress do or what can Congress not do, maybe take that out of play," Kagan said, referring to Roberts' comments months earlier and pushback over whether lawmakers have the authority to require the court to adopt ethics policies.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh said last month that he is "hopeful" the Supreme Court will soon take concrete steps to address the ethics issues it is facing, and echoed that the justices are "continuing to work on those issues."

"To the extent that we can increase confidence, we're working on that," he said.