WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released a statement following the Senate Judiciary Committee’s announcement that they would hold a vote on Supreme Court ethics legislation later this month:
“This is the most ethically compromised Supreme Court in the history of the country. It’s no surprise that trust in the Court is at an all-time low as these politicians in robes strip away the rights of Americans and roll back decades of progress on racial equality, reproductive rights, LGTBQ rights, and more while accepting free travel on private jets and luxury vacations from Republican mega donors with business before of the court.
“It makes no sense that every federal judge is bound by a code of ethics except for the nine who sit on the highest court in the country. I am glad the Judiciary Committee will vote soon on legislation that requires the Supreme Court to adopt a code of conduct – something I’ve been calling for since 2011. Democrats must be laser focused on protecting Americans from the harm imposed on them by an increasingly radical court, and this vote is the first step toward doing so.”
Murphy has introduced legislation to apply a code of conduct to the Supreme Court every Congress since 2011. Most recently, he introduced the Supreme Court Ethics Act, requiring the Judicial Conference of the United States to create a code of ethical conduct for the Supreme Court of the United States. It would also require the appointment of an Ethics Investigations Counsel and require justices to publicly disclose recusal decisions.
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