Supreme Court Justices Could Be Forced To Recuse Themselves Under New Plan

The New York City Bar Association’s proposal for Supreme Court reform suggests empowering a panel to decide whether justices must recuse themselves from a case.
The NYCBA released a report this week that said Congress has the constitutional authority to establish a binding ethics code for the nation’s highest court.
It proposes the creation of a Judicial Investigation Panel of five federal judges and an Office of the Inspector General within the court. The panel would screen complaints to be investigated by the OIG and the OIG would report back to the panel to rule on any potential ethical violations.
It comes as President Joe Biden and Democrats are seeking to reform the Supreme Court, including establishing term limits for justices and an enforceable ethics code. Republicans, however, have pushed back on such calls, arguing that it would be a breach of the separation of powers between the branches of the federal government.
The Supreme Court has come under scrutiny over ethics after revelations about some of the justices, including that Justice Clarence Thomas accepted undisclosed luxury trips and gifts for years from a Republican megadonor. The court adopted its first code of ethics in November, but it sparked criticism since it lacks a means of enforcement and leaves compliance entirely to each justice.
Earlier this year, Justice Samuel Alito rejected calls to step aside from cases involving former president Donald Trump after it emerged that two flags like those carried by rioters during the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack had been flown outside two of his homes.
Thomas has rejected calls to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 presidential election after it was reported that his wife, Virginia Thomas, supported efforts to overturn the results.
The NYCBA’s proposal for recusal decisions, which it said is modeled on legislation proposed by Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, suggests empowering the OIG to investigate when a recusal request is made, either through a complaint to the Judicial Investigation Panel or on a motion for recusal made to the court.
“A Justice may decide to recuse on his or her own, but if the Justice does not recuse when presented with facts that could support recusal from the [OIG], the Justice cannot judge his or her own case,” the report states.
“The issue must be decided by the Judicial Panel, whose decisions become final in 30 days if the Court takes no action.”
Newsweek reached out to a Supreme Court spokesperson via email for comment.
Justice Elena Kagan, a member of the court’s liberal wing, has expressed support for an enforceable code of ethics.
“It seems like a good idea in terms of ensuring that we comply with our own code of conduct going forward in the future,” she said at an event at the New York University School of Law in September. “It seems like a good idea in terms of ensuring that people have confidence that we’re doing exactly that. So it seems like a salutary thing for the court.”