Does the Supreme Court need a code of conduct?
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Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor routinely uses taxpayer-funded employees to perform tasks for her private book ventures, which have collectively earned her at least $3.7 million since she joined the Court in 2009, per an AP investigation published yesterday.
However, Sotomayor technically hasn’t broken any laws. While Congress, the executive branch, and lower-ranking federal judges are all banned from using their public office for personal gain, the Supreme Court has no formal code of conduct preventing them from doing so.
⚖️ A deeper dive… The AP found Sotomayor’s staff has been “deeply involved” in the organization of speaking events intended to sell books Sotomayor has written over the years, often persuading colleges and libraries that hosted her to buy hundreds or thousands of copies.
- Sotomayor’s publisher, Penguin Random House, also played a large role in organizing her speaking events, and in some cases pressured hosts to require a book purchase for attendance, per emails obtained by the AP.
- Over the same period, Penguin had several matters before the Supreme Court in which Sotomayor didn’t recuse herself.
Sotomayor, whose annual salary is $285,400, isn’t the only SCOTUS justice to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in book sales in recent years. But no other justices leveraged their public office to boost sales to the same extent as Sotomayor, per the AP.
📝 Big picture: The AP’s report is one of several recent investigations focused on the Supreme Court’s lack of ethics regulations. These include a pair of ProPublica pieces alleging that Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito both failed to report luxury gifts from billionaires who later had cases before the Court.
👀 Looking ahead… On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee agreed to consider a bill that would force the Supreme Court to establish a code of conduct and adhere to the same disclosure standards as members of Congress.
📊 Flash poll: Do you think Supreme Court justices should adopt a code of conduct?
See a 360° view of what media pundits are saying →
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that the Supreme Court has shown a blatant disregard for ethical obligations, and that Congress needs to step in and enforce new rules because SCOTUS clearly can’t police themselves.
- Others contend that the Supreme Court is in the midst of a confidence crisis of its own making, and needs to shore up public confidence by enacting a code of conduct – or be forced to by Congress.
- “Congress Can Impose an Ethics Code if the Supreme Court Won’t” –NY Times Editorial Board
- “The Supreme Court can save itself from the crisis the justices created” –WaPo Editorial Board
- “The Supreme Court needs ethics reform. That shouldn’t be a partisan issue” –LA Times Editorial Board
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that calls from lawmakers for the Supreme Court to adopt a code of conduct are simply Democrats who want more power over the conservative-leaning Judicial Branch.
- Others contend that Democratic lawmakers are clearly waging a war to delegitimize the Supreme Court because they disagree with many of its recent decisions, and shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.
- “The ‘Ethics’ Assault on the Supreme Court” –WSJ Editorial Board
- “Supreme Court ‘Ethics’ Theater: Democrats’ Ongoing Jihad against Conservative Jurists” –Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review
- “Ethics’ and the Supreme Court’s Independence” –Helgi C. Walker, WSJ
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