Margaret Sullivan, The Guardian ; Alito’s wrongdoing makes a supreme court ethics overhaul an imperative
"What’s to be done about these persistent judicial ethics lapses?...
In 2019, the well-respected Brennan Center for Justice, in an extensive report, urged the court to voluntarily adopt a formal ethics code, rather than wait for Congress to impose one. It also called for the court to explain justices’ reasons for recusal, in order to provide more transparency, and to strengthen its informal – and all-too-weak – practices governing gifts and financial disclosures.
All good and necessary ideas. And it would be ideal for the court to get to work on all of that.
But since there seems little appetite to do so, it’s left up to Congress to do it for them. Checks, balances and all of that.
Today’s supreme court is extremely powerful, increasingly political and decreasingly trusted. It’s never been more obvious that ethics reform needs to happen now."
