Why doesn’t the Supreme Court have a formal code of ethics?; Poynter, April 17, 2023

 Matthew Crowley, Poynter; Why doesn’t the Supreme Court have a formal code of ethics?

"Enforcement questions

Steven Lubet, an emeritus law professor at Northwestern University, said enforcing any code would be challenging.

“There is no enforcement mechanism in the current … situation, in which the justices say they voluntarily follow gift disclosure and other rules,” Lubet said.

Stephen Gillers, a professor emeritus at the New York University School of Law, wondered whether the court would accept a code and whether Roberts would enforce it if the justices objected to its tenets.

“What buy-in would the court need to adopt a code that binds all justices?,” he asked. “Who would enforce it? Lower court judges whose opinions the justices review? Not likely to work. Or will the court as a whole pass on the conduct of a fellow justice? Will that be credible?”

Gillers said he doubted the recent outcry over Thomas would force the court to change.

“Six months ago, I would have rated it as very unlikely (1 in 20) that the court will adopt its own code; I think the Court would not want to be seen to react to public pressure,” he said. “Now, after the latest Thomas story, I think it is just unlikely (1 in 4/5) but increasingly possible.”"