Kagan says Supreme Court needs authority to enforce ethics code

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said this week the court should have a mechanism to enforce its ethics code that was adopted last November.

Justice Kagan, an Obama appointee, suggested Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. could appoint a panel of judges to enforce the code,  The Associated Press reported.

“The thing that can be criticized is, you know, rules usually have enforcement mechanisms attached to them, and this one — this set of rules — does not,” Justice Kagan said at a judicial conference hosted by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported President Biden was looking to propose revisions for the Supreme Court that included enforcing an ethics code. It also includes term limits for the justices.

Democratic lawmakers have become increasingly frustrated with the 6-3 GOP majority bench. They see the high court’s rulings as increasingly political, with the latest term letting former President Donald Trump remain on the 2024 ballot after critics argued he couldn’t run after the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The justices also gave him a partial victory in his quest for immunity from criminal prosecution by special counsel Jack Smith.

Criticizing the high court for not following ethics guidelines as lower courts require has been a sticking point from Democratic members of Congress, which eventually pushed the justices to adopt some conflict of interest and recusal rules in a unanimous statement last year.

Critics say still no enforcement body exists beyond the justices to impose the ethics requirements.

Earlier this month, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, moved to impeach Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. over alleged ethics concerns.

Last year, ProPublica published articles critical of the justices — mainly Justice Thomas — accepting hospitality without disclosing it.

At the time, there was no requirement to disclose certain hospitality and gifts for the justices, but that changed last year after the Judicial Conference updated its rules, extending them to the high court.

Justice Thomas and GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, who were at the center of ProPublica’s reporting, have defended their friendship, and Mr. Crow has said he hasn’t discussed Supreme Court business with Justice Thomas.

Democrats have also alleged Justice Thomas’ wife attended the Jan. 6 rally supporting Mr. Trump and that Justice Alito flew flags outside his residence sympathetic with the “Stop the Steal” movement.

Both justices have denied any wrongdoing. Justice Thomas’ wife left the Jan. 6 rally before violence broke out at the U.S. Capitol.

Democrats urged the two justices to recuse themselves from cases related to the 2020 election, but both rebuffed those calls.