Senate committee to advance Supreme Court ethics bill after alleged justice misconduct
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday will vote on whether to advance legislation that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to adopt a binding code of ethics The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday will -- for the first time -- vote to advance legislation that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to adopt a binding code of ethics, adhere to more stringent disclosure requirements and explain recusal decisions to the public. The unusual step follows a wave of news reports that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito failed to disclose ties to wealthy Business men and political donors, including acceptance of luxury Travel and accommodations, and that Justice Sonia Sotomayor used taxpayer-funded court staff to help sell her books. Alito personally defended himself -- arguing, in a rare op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal, that he acted appropriately. In Thomas' case, he maintained that he thought he didn't have to disclose those ties; while in Sotomayor's ...