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Progressive Takes Friday
PT 1.3 (July 21, 2023)
The Good News of the Day: A Code of Ethics for the United States Supreme Court?
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill, seems to have finally decided to do something about the lack of ethics and ethics rules at the United States Supreme Court. Durbin and other top Senate Dems have put forward legislation that creates a code of conduct for the nation’s highest court, including rules on financial disclosures and recusals.
Why have Durbin and the Dems taken this step? Because Chief Justice John Roberts has refused to. Roberts even refused to participate in the discussion, turning down the opportunity to testify in front of the committee. Roberts — and other members of the court — have steadfastly held to the belief that the justices themselves are the ones best suited to policing themselves.
And they have a point. After all, they are the ones with the final say in some of the most consequential issues of our day. We trust them with those, right? Shouldn’t we respect their ability to hold each other to the highest ethical standards?
Oh, right. We’re talking about Robert’s Court, 2023. So no. No, we shouldn’t.
There was a time when just the appearance of a conflict was enough to get…
