Sotomayor’s book sales renews calls in Congress for SCOTUS ethics reform

An investigation by The Associated Press revealed Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s taxpayer-funded staff performed tasks to help sell her book. The report is adding momentum to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s efforts to strengthen the court’s ethics rules. 

“The Sotomayor revelations are just more of the drip, drip, drip that’s going to eventually undercut and eviscerate the Supreme Court’s legitimacy and credibility,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Straight Arrow News.   

The committee will vote on the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act July 20. 

If it were passed into law, it would require the court to adopt a code of conduct and create a way to investigate alleged violations. It would also improve disclosure and transparency when a justice has a connection to a party before the court, and require justices to publicly explain their recusal decisions. 

Top Democrats on the committee have been trying to get ethics reform done for more than a decade and renewed their efforts after reports about Justice Clarence Thomas’s all expense paid vacations with a conservative billionaire. But even if the committee approves, the legislation does not have enough support to get passed into law. 

“These nine people are acting as if they’re above the law. They’re making critical decisions to change America. And they won’t even concede when there’s a clear conflict of interest. That is unacceptable,” Sen. Dick Durbin D-Ill, said.

Republicans, including Sen. Thom Tillis, have said the Supreme Court should update its ethics code. But they think it would be overreach for Congress to impose rules on a separate but equal branch of government. 

“This is this is about the confidence of the American people. And that’s why I think the Supreme Court should look at it, all nine of them. This is not just a job that the chief justice can get done on his own,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said. 

In March, the panel that sets rules for the federal judiciary, known as the Judicial Conference, strengthened disclosure requirements for gifts involving non-business travel. But the Supreme Court still does not have to abide by other rules that apply to federal employees, elected officials and their staffs.  

“Here’s the bottom line. If I did, with my staff, what she is alleged to do, I would have to explain myself to the Ethics Committee of the United States Senate, I could not be given a free pass the way every member of the Supreme Court gets,” Blumenthal said. 

Chief Justice John Roberts recently said the court is looking into things they can do to adhere to the highest standards of conduct. But he didn’t give any details, nor a timeline.