Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act

Key Points

• This bill creates two new offices to oversee the Supreme Court. One office would give justices and their families advice on following ethics rules regarding gifts and money, while the other would investigate complaints about their conduct.
• Justices and their spouses would be required to take ethics training every two years. The ethics office would also send a report to Congress each year explaining what kind of advice they gave and if justices actually followed it.
• The investigative office would have the power to issue subpoenas, meaning they could legally force people to testify or hand over documents. They would look into complaints filed by top leaders in the House and Senate.
• To keep things fair, the people running these offices must be outside experts who have not worked for the Court before. They would serve fixed terms and could only be fired for a very serious reason, not just because a justice is unhappy with them.
• If an investigation finds that a justice or their family member broke the rules, a report would be sent to the Chief Justice and Congress. Any evidence of a crime would be sent to the Attorney General to see if charges are necessary.