Pass a Binding Ethics Code for the Supreme Court

Congress needs to pass binding ethics reform for the Supreme Court now. The current system of voluntary disclosure and self-policing is, as Rep. Rosa DeLauro put it, "woefully insufficient." Conservative justices have accepted lavish gifts from wealthy donors with active interests before the bench, and there is no enforceable mechanism to hold anyone accountable. Even Justice Kagan acknowledged that someone needs to enforce the Court's ethics rules and that the structural challenges of using senior or retired federal judges "could be overcome." That's an opening. Take it. Legislation should mandate financial disclosure requirements and establish an independent enforcement body drawn from within the judicial branch — not beholden to the president or Congress, but real, binding, and with teeth. The justices themselves showed up to ask for a $16.6 million budget increase. Congress has every right to attach conditions to that conversation. Public trust in the Court is eroding. Pass a binding, enforceable code of ethics before this session ends.