The Supreme Court formally adopted its first ethics code on Nov. 13. The code was agreed upon by all nine justices, and it will hold them to a standard of ethics both inside and outside of the courtroom.
While the ethics code is new, many rules that it outlines are not. The introduction to the code states that it was issued due to a “misunderstanding that the Justices of this court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules.”
Per a statemtn given by the justices, the code is based on a preexisting code applying to the lower courts but is adapted to fit the “unique institutional setting of the Supreme Court.”
The code outlines behaviors and actions that justices of the court are not to engage in.
“A Justice should be patient, dignified, respectful, and courteous to all individuals with whom the Justice deals in an official capacity,” the Supreme Court Code of Ethics said. “A Justice should not engage in behavior that is harassing, abusive, prejudiced, or biased. A Justice should not retaliate against those who report misconduct.”
While the establishment of a code of ethics for the Supreme Court is being celebrated, there is no indication of how the rules of the code will be enforced.
“I think it’s great that the Supreme Court has established a code to keep the justices accountable,” said Daly Kennedy, a junior political science major. “I think that people are concerned with not knowing how it will be enforced for good reason, but it’s new. They probably don’t even know themselves how it will be
However, uncertainty remains over how the code will be enforced.
“I don’t understand how you are going to put rules in place but not disclose how you are going to get justices to follow the rules,” said Makenzie Flenniken, a senior public health major. “Rules without a method of enforcement aren’t rules; they’re more like guidelines.”
There is speculation that the Supreme Court implemented the code of ethics following criticism from the public. Allegations of a lack of ethics in justice, a heavy topic in the media in the weeks before the code was established, have led to this assumption by the public.
“It’s convenient that these rules are officially put in place following heavy conversation about how there is a lack of ethics, but at least it exists now,” said Liz Newlin, a senior mass communication major. “As someone who wants to go into law, it is very important to me that people in the field show a respect for their profession and what it represents. I think this will hold the justices accountable and brings a sort of officiality to holding them accountable.”
While there are not currently any means of enforcing the rules of the code, encouragement from the public could pressure the Supreme Court to apply them.
