Justice Amy Coney Barrett: Ethics rules would be ‘good idea’

Justice Amy Coney Barrett said it would be a “good idea” for the Supreme Court to adopt an ethical code of conduct, becoming the latest justice to endorse the proposal in the wake of the court’s recent ethics controversies.

“I think it would be a good idea for us to do it, particularly so that we can communicate to the public exactly what it is that we’re doing in a clearer way than perhaps we have been able to do so far,” Barrett said during a Monday appearance at the University of Minnesota Law School.

The high court’s ethics have come under fire following ProPublica’s reports this spring about undisclosed trips, gifts and a real estate deal Justice Clarence Thomas accepted from a billionaire and Republican megadonor. Thomas has said he didn’t report them based on guidance he received from his colleagues.

Democrats and judicial watchdog groups renewed a push to pass legislation requiring the Supreme Court to adopt a binding code of ethics. But the proposal faces stiff opposition from Republicans — who have portrayed the push as tearing down the conservative-majority court — giving it slim odds of passage in the Republican-led House.

With no impending outside intervention from Congress, it has left it to the justices themselves to decide whether to make any changes internally.

Barrett’s comments Monday follow public indications of support for the ethics code proposal in recent weeks from Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, members of the court’s liberal and conservative wings, respectively.

Both Kagan and Kavanaugh expressed hope that the justices can reach an agreement soon.

“That’s something that I can’t really speak for the court about or make any sort of guess about that,” Barrett, another member of the high court’s conservative wing, said Monday when asked about the timing. 

Like Kagan and Kavanaugh, Barrett during her appearance also echoed comments made in May by Chief Justice John Roberts, who did not explicitly voice support for adopting an ethics code but said he was committed to ensuring the court adheres to the “highest standards of conduct.”

“I would just say that one thing I would want all of you all to know is that all nine justices are very committed to the highest standards of ethical conduct,” Barrett said in Minnesota. 

“All nine justices — and we’re in agreement about what to do and we want to continue to follow the highest ethical standards,” Barrett continued. “So any disagreement is nothing to do with either of those principles.”