Federal Judges: Blind Trust Requirements for Investments
The Justice is BLIND Act of 2026 was sent to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on July 20, 2026. It has not moved since that date. The bill must receive a vote or further action from this committee to proceed, though most bills do not advance past this stage.
Companion bill: Judicial Ethics: Mandatory Blind Trusts for Federal Judges →While there is significant public interest in judicial ethics, this bill currently lacks the broad bipartisan support needed to pass in a divided Congress.
This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.
Companion
Identical companion bill H.R. 9784 (119th) was introduced in the other chamber.
H.R. 9784 (119th) →Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Federal judges, magistrate judges, and bankruptcy judges, along with their spouses and dependent children, would have to move most individual stocks, commodities, and futures into blind trusts within 90 days of the law's effective date or of taking office. They would lose the ability to actively manage or even track their own portfolios and could not regain control of those assets until 180 days after leaving the bench, creating a real compliance and financial-planning burden for this specific group of federal officials.
“a justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge and any spouse or dependent child of such justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge shall place any covered financial interest of such justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge or any spouse or dependent child of such justice, judge, magistrate judge, or bankruptcy judge, into a qualified blind trust.”
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
A newly introduced congressional bill, the Justice Is BLIND Act, mandates that Supreme Court justices and other federal judges move financial assets like stocks into blind trusts. The proposal aims to strengthen judicial ethics and reduce potential conflicts of interest.
Rep. Hank Johnson introduced the Justice is BLIND Act to prevent judicial conflicts of interest. The bill requires federal judges and Supreme Court justices to place financial assets into blind trusts within 90 days of enactment or being sworn into office.
The Justice is BLIND Act is part of a broader legislative push to reform judicial ethics. It would require judges and their families to divest from individual stocks or use blind trusts, similar to requirements proposed for other federal officials in the Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act.
No votes recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Justice is BLIND Act of 2026
Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.