Headline Roundup • November 13th, 2023
Supreme Court Announces Code of Ethics Following Criticism
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Supreme Court announced the adoption of an ethics code for Justices on Monday, following scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers and left-rated media outlets.
For Context: Earlier this year, ProPublica (Lean Left bias) published a report stating that for over two decades, Justice Clarence Thomas had “accepted luxury trips” from Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow without disclosing them. Similar reports regarding other Justices were published in the following months, sparking criticism from the Senate Judiciary Committee and debate over Congress’ authority to regulate the court.
Key Quotes: According to a statement attached to the memo, the code of conduct aims to “set out succinctly and gather in one place the ethics rules and principles that guide the conduct of the Members of the Court.” The absence of a formal code of ethics “has led in recent years to the misunderstanding that the Justices of this Court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules. To dispel this misunderstanding, we are issuing this Code, which largely represents a codification of principles that we have long regarded as governing our conduct.”
How the Media Covered It: Fox News (Right bias) reported that the ethics code comes in response to backlash from Democrats regarding Justices going on vacations “paid for by friends,” leaving out the specific details and allegations of ethical violations. HuffPost (Left bias) explicitly deemed the behavior of certain Justices “unethical” and included only quotes from individuals critical of the new ethics code.
Featured Coverage of this Story
via Associated Press
The Supreme Court announced Monday that it has adopted an ethics code for the first time, a step that comes in response to its justices ― particularly conservative Justice Clarence Thomas ― facing scrutiny for undisclosed gifts from wealthy political donors.
But Democratic senators and progressive court reform groups are already saying it does next to nothing because there is no way to enforce it.
All nine justices signed onto the court’s new code of conduct. Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan and Brett Kavanaugh have previously voiced support for...
Al Drago/Getty Images
The Supreme Court on Monday adopted an ethics code for justices in light of recent scrutiny over undisclosed gifts to two current justices.
A statement from the court attached to the 14-page Code of Conduct states that “for the most part these rules and principles are not new.”
It adds that the absence of a code “has led in recent years to the misunderstanding that the Justices of this Court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules.”
“To dispel this misunderstanding, we...
Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via Getty Images
The Supreme Court on Monday issued a new "Code of Conduct" following months of heightened scrutiny from Senate Judiciary Democrats pushing for new ethics laws for the high court.
"The undersigned Justices are promulgating this Code of Conduct to set out succinctly and gather in one place the ethics rules and principles that guide the conduct of the Members of the Court," the announcement Monday read.
"For the most part these rules and principles are not new: The Court has long had the equivalent of common law ethics rules, that...
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