Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said that concerns over the Supreme Court in regard to ethics were “legitimate,” and she broadly supported some manner of Supreme Court code of ethics implementation.
In a discussion at the University of Notre Dame Law School, Kagan addressed recent concerns over a need for a code of ethics for the Supreme Court. Her comments came following outrage from activists that Justice Clarence Thomas had accepted gifts from a wealthy friend. Though not providing specifics, Kagan said that implementing a code of ethics would be a “good” thing.
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“There has been some concern, and I think it’s legitimate concern, that the Supreme Court is an unusual kind of court in certain respects and that some of the rules do not fit quite as well at the Supreme Court level as they do at the level of lower courts,” she said, the National Law Journal reported.
“But of course what we could do is just adapt the code of conduct that the other court systems have in order to reflect those slight or certain differences,” she added.
NEW: JUSTICE KAGAN says it would be “good thing” for #SCOTUS to adopt a modified code of ethics. “It would help in our own compliance with the rules and it would go far in persuading other people that we were adhering to the highest standards of conduct.” #SCOTUS
Full Quote: pic.twitter.com/FEA4abtd8b
— Jimmy Hoover (@JimmyHooverDC) September 22, 2023
“And I think it would be a good thing for the court to do that,” she continued. “It would help in our own compliance with the rules, and it would, I think, go far in persuading other people that we were adhering to the highest standards of conduct.”
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A recent report from ProPublica published last month claimed that the associate justice accepted at least 38 vacations, 26 international private jet flights (plus an additional eight by helicopter), 12 VIP passes to sporting events, and two resort stays during his time on the court. The report also revealed his ties to several billionaire benefactors.
Some left-wing activists have called on Thomas to resign, while others are calling for the implementation of a code of ethics for the Supreme Court.
