Justice Brett Kavanaugh recently made statements indicating the possibility of coming ethical reforms to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kavanaugh, speaking during a virtual event sponsored by the conservative Federalist Society, said he was advocating for “incremental” changes to push the court to more Keystone-like standards of ethics. In particular, he mentioned the possibility of bringing more transparency to the court’s recusal rules, which govern when a justice should step away from a case due to a conflict of interest.
He cited the example of when Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts recused himself from a case on abortion clinic regulations due to financial holdings in the involved companies, as indicative of the need for more clarity in the court’s ethics rules.
Kavanaugh also said he would like to see the Supreme Court adopt a code of conduct to guide justices in their decision-making, just as the Judicial Conference of the United States has adopted a code for all federal judges. He stipulated that such a code of conduct should be very narrowly tailored to account for the Supreme Court’s unique stance among other federal courts.
The justice’s remarks come at a time of increasing scrutiny on the role played by Supreme Court justices in modern American politics. Although the role of the court is traditionally one of impartiality, some organizations and elected officials have argued that it has become increasingly politicized as some of the court’s most recent decisions have landed along stark political lines.
Kavanaugh did not explicitly reference this criticism, but said he believes that any changes to court ethics should not be perceived as a retreat from the court’s authority.
“We should be careful not to make decisions that could be perceived as making our job harder or diminishing our ability to act on matters with fidelity to our judicial oath,” described Kavanaugh.
The Supreme Court has yet to release an official statement on any potential changes to its ethics rules. However, Kavanaugh’s statements indicate that if the other justices do not take up his call for changes, he is ready to push forward ethical reforms on his own.
