The Supreme Court Adopted Its First Formal Code Of Ethics

All nine Justices agreed to the new policy though it does not appear to impose any significant new requirements and leaves compliance entirely to each Justice.

On Monday, the United States Supreme Court adopted its first formal code of ethics.

The new code of conduct was adopted after a series of reports claimed that Supreme Court members have been taking bribes and deals that affected their judgements.

The new nine-page code contains sections codifying that Justices should not let outside relationships influence their official conduct or judgment, spelling out restrictions on their participation in fundraising and reiterating limits on the accepting of gifts. It also states that Justices should not “to any substantial degree” use judicial resources or staff for non-official activities.

A statement released by the Justices revealed that the absence of a code has led to misunderstanding in recent years, that the Justices of the court regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules.

All nine Justices agreed to the new policy though it does not appear to impose any significant new requirements and leaves compliance entirely to each Justice.