Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2025
House Committee Reviews Bill Requiring Supreme Court Ethics Code and Gift Limits
Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- Tells the Supreme Court to create a written code of conduct within 180 days, with public notice and a chance for people to comment.
- Requires the Court to post its ethics rules online in a searchable, downloadable format, so the public can easily see what the rules are.
- Creates a formal way for people to file ethics complaints against Supreme Court justices, with investigations handled by a panel of 5 randomly chosen chief circuit judges.
- Tightens recusal (stepping aside) rules when there are possible conflicts, including certain ties to lobbying contacts or gifts/income, and requires quick notice to the parties when a conflict is found.
- Adds new disclosure rules for friend-of-the-court briefs, including naming major funders, and requires studies and audits on how well judges follow conflict-of-interest rules.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
How this policy affects specific groups of people
Milestones
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
2 articles
Dem senator sees revived Supreme Court ethics bill as an exercise in messaging
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse reintroduced the SCERT Act in 2025, requiring the Supreme Court to draft a binding code of ethics available for public comment. The measure would establish a panel of five randomly chosen lower court judges to adjudicate ethical complaints against the justices.
Supreme Court adopts ethics code, addresses 'misunderstanding' that justices feel unrestrained by rules
While the Court adopted its own code, the SCERT Act remains the primary legislative alternative. The bill would mandate a formal code of ethics and send complaints to an investigative panel of lower-court judges, addressing the lack of an enforcement mechanism in the Court's self-adopted rules.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2025
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
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