Amy Coney Barrett Says Formal Supreme Court Ethics Code a ‘Good Idea’

Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett stands during a group photo of the justices at the Supreme Court in Washington on April 23, 2021. Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett has voiced her support for the nation’s highest court adopting a formal code of conduct following multiple reports alleging ethical shortcomings.

Justice Barrett made the comments on Oct. 16 while speaking at the University of Minnesota Law School, just months after Senate Democrats advanced the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act (SCERT) of 2023, legislation that would mandate a binding ethics code for the Supreme Court.

Asked if she favors a formal code of conduct for Supreme Court Justices and what benefits that would potentially provide, Justice Barrett responded, “I think it would be a good idea for us to do it, particularly so that we can communicate to the public exactly what it is that we’re doing—and in a clearer way than perhaps we have been able to do so far.”

However, Justice Barrett stressed the nine justices already hold themselves to the highest ethical standards possible.

“I will say this, there is no lack of consensus among the justices—there is unanimity among all nine justices—that we should and do hold ourselves to the highest standards, highest ethical standards possible,” she said.

The Supreme Court Justice also noted that such an ethics reform code would likely focus on “how best to express what it is that we are already doing” adding that the justices already abide by a number of statutes that apply to all judges, such as filing financial disclosure forms.

She personally follows the formal canons of conduct that applied to her when she was an appeals court judge, the Supreme Court justice told audience members.

Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court pose for their official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington on Oct. 7, 2022. (Front L–R) Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Samuel Alito and Justice Elena Kagan. (Back L–R) Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Justices ‘Committed to Highest Standards’

While Justice Barrett was unable to provide a timeline as to when the Supreme Court might reach a consensus regarding what its own ethics code should be, she stressed that the justices remain “very committed to the highest standards of ethical conduct.”

Justice Barrett’s comments come after reports emerged regarding Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s alleged failure to disclose a number of gifts he reportedly received from conservative billionaire Harlan Crow.

Justice Thomas filed a disclosure form with the Committee on Financial Disclosure of the Administrative Office of the United States on Aug. 31 detailing the previously undisclosed gifts from Mr. Crow, who is also a close friend.

The form indicates that Mr. Crow—who is also a Republican Party donor—paid for private jet trips for the justice, including one in which he vacationed at a friend’s New York estate.

Responding to criticism over his failure to initially disclose the gift, Justice Thomas said he has “always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines” and did not previously disclose the freebie after being advised early on that such activity “did not have business before the Court, was not reportable.”

Protester Nadine Seiler holds up a banner during an abortion protest near the home of Justice Clarence Thomas on May 11, 2023. Joseph Lord/The Epoch Times

Abortion Protests Taint Speech

Justice Thomas has vowed to disclose all necessary information going forward.

However, other Supreme Court justices, including Justice Samuel Alito, have also come under scrutiny for alleged ethical issues such as failing to disclose various paid-for trips, including an Alaska trip in 2008.

Like Justice Thomas, Justice Alito has also defended his actions by claiming it was not standard practice to disclose such trips in annual financial statements.

Still, he too has vowed to bolster public transparency going forward, and all of the justices issued a statement (pdf) in April in which they pledged to “reaffirm and restate foundational ethics principles and practices to which they subscribe in carrying out their responsibilities” as members of the nation’s highest court.

While Justice Barrett shied away from controversial subjects during her speech at the University of Minnesota Law School on Monday, her appearance was marred by protests from abortion supporters who at one point unfurled a banner and began chanting, “Not the court, not the state, people must decide their fate” from a balcony.

Those protesters, who appeared to be demonstrating in response to the Supreme Court’s decision last year to overturn Roe v. Wade, were later escorted off the premises by police, although no arrests were made, The Associated Press reported.