INDECISION

Supreme Court Has Spent 4 Unsuccessful Years Trying to Create a Code of Ethics for Justices

Calls for a code of conduct have only intensified in the wake of controversies like Ginni Thomas’ involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

A scandal-scarred U.S. Supreme Court has tried for four years to agree on a code of conduct for its nine justices but has failed to reach a consensus, according to The Washington Post, who spoke to unnamed sources familiar with the matter. As the court’s conservative majority has grown, and the justices have weighed in on polarizing issues like Roe v. Wade, criticisms of the justices and their spouses have intensified. Justice Clarence Thomas, in particular, was scrutinized for taking on cases about the 2020 presidential election results while his wife, conservative activist Ginni Thomas, was pushing election fraud claims and asking White House officials to overturn the results. Coming up with a code of ethics remains “an active topic at the court,” the Post reported, but technically there is nothing requiring it. “The absence of a clearly articulated, binding code of ethics for the justices of the Court imperils the legitimacy of the Court,” the American Bar Association said, according to the Post.