American Bar Association
In February 2023, amid a nationwide controversy concerning ethics at the U.S. Supreme Court, the ABA House of Delegates adopted Resolution 400. It urged the court to adopt a code of judicial ethics that is binding on the justices, comparable to the code of conduct for other federal judges.
The resolution also urged federal, state, local and territorial bar associations to adopt their own resolutions urging the Supreme Court to adopt a binding code of judicial ethics.
To further those ends, then-ABA President Mary Smith created a Presidential Task Force Regarding Supreme Court Ethics. That task force, chaired by Kathleen Hopkins, a Seattle attorney and King County Bar Association’s delegate to the ABA House of Delegates, promoted the ABA’s policies in Resolution 400 to members of the legal profession across the country.
On Nov. 13, 2023, the Supreme Court introduced a new code of conduct for its justices. The code contains five canons, including guidance on disqualification, extrajudicial activities, financial activities and political activities. It does not include an enforcement mechanism.
The same day, Smith greeted the new code as “a positive first step toward ethics transparency by the nation’s highest court,” while noting that the code “does not address the important issue of enforcement.”
Subsequently, the ABA task force contacted bar associations and law firms nationwide to promote Resolution 400, encouraging the associations to urge the Supreme Court to create a binding ethics code.
In response, several bar associations have done just that, including associations in some of the nation’s largest cities and counties (Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and King County, Washington, among others) plus state bar associations in Minnesota and Alaska.
Judges across the country overwhelmingly support the idea of a binding ethics code for the Supreme Court. In a nationwide survey of judges earlier this year, the National Judicial College found that 94% of judges support the implementation of a code of ethics for the Supreme Court, and 88% believe adherence to the code should be involuntary. Two-thirds of judges said the preferred enforcement method is review with possible disciplinary actions.
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/ 2024/08/aba-promotes-binding-scotus-ethics/)
In February 2023, amid a nationwide controversy concerning ethics at the U.S. Supreme Court, the ABA House of Delegates adopted Resolution 400. It urged the court to adopt a code of judicial ethics that is binding on the justices, comparable to the code of conduct for other federal judges.
The resolution also urged federal, state, local and territorial bar associations to adopt their own resolutions urging the Supreme Court to adopt a binding code of judicial ethics.
To further those ends, then-ABA President Mary Smith created a Presidential Task Force Regarding Supreme Court Ethics. That task force, chaired by Kathleen Hopkins, a Seattle attorney and King County Bar Association’s delegate to the ABA House of Delegates, promoted the ABA’s policies in Resolution 400 to members of the legal profession across the country.
On Nov. 13, 2023, the Supreme Court introduced a new code of conduct for its justices. The code contains five canons, including guidance on disqualification, extrajudicial activities, financial activities and political activities. It does not include an enforcement mechanism.
The same day, Smith greeted the new code as “a positive first step toward ethics transparency by the nation’s highest court,” while noting that the code “does not address the important issue of enforcement.”
Subsequently, the ABA task force contacted bar associations and law firms nationwide to promote Resolution 400, encouraging the associations to urge the Supreme Court to create a binding ethics code.
In response, several bar associations have done just that, including associations in some of the nation’s largest cities and counties (Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and King County, Washington, among others) plus state bar associations in Minnesota and Alaska.
Judges across the country overwhelmingly support the idea of a binding ethics code for the Supreme Court. In a nationwide survey of judges earlier this year, the National Judicial College found that 94% of judges support the implementation of a code of ethics for the Supreme Court, and 88% believe adherence to the code should be involuntary. Two-thirds of judges said the preferred enforcement method is review with possible disciplinary actions.
(https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/ 2024/08/aba-promotes-binding-scotus-ethics/)
