Democrats urge US Supreme Court ethics reform as panel set to vote
By John Kruzel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democrats on Thursday sought to make the case for legislation to mandate a binding ethics code for the U.S. Supreme Court after revelations that some conservative justices failed to disclose luxury trips and real estate transactions, with a Senate panel set to vote on the measure.
The bill, however, faces Republican opposition that may doom its chances even if it is approved by the Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Debate on the bill was ongoing.
«They are the most powerful judges in America,» Senator Dick Durbin, the committee's Democratic chairman, said of the justices. «And yet they are not required to follow even the most basic ethical standards.»
Introduced by Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the bill would impose on the top U.S. judicial body new requirements for financial disclosures and for recusal from cases in which a justice may have a conflict of interest. It would require the justices to adopt a code of conduct as well as create a mechanism to investigate alleged violations.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, in a speech on the Senate floor said, «Holding Supreme Court justices to high ethical standards should not be a partisan issue. On the contrary, both sides should leap at the opportunity to do whatever we can to protect the public's trust in our system of justice.»
Some Republican senators have sought to portray the ethics reform push as an effort by liberals and Democrats to smear the court as its 6-3 conservative majority continues to steer the law in a rightward direction.
«This is a bill not designed to make the court stronger or more ethical. This is a bill to destroy a conservative court,» Senator Lindsey Graham, the committee's top
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