In February 2023, the American Bar Association (“ABA”) passed Resolution 400, calling on the Supreme Court of the United States to develop its own binding code of conduct similar to the Judicial Conference of the United States Code of Conduct. In November 2023, as a result of the public outcry concerning reports of alleged misconduct, the Court adopted its own non-binding code of conduct. More than a year later, the Supreme Court has continued to disregard the outcry from the public by failing to adopt a binding code of judicial ethics, and, as such, this issue remains as ripe as ever. The Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia (WBA) joins the ABA and a host of bar associations around the country in urging the Supreme Court to adopt a binding code of judicial ethics. See ABA resolution 400.
Alexander Hamilton recognized that judges must have integrity and maintain an independent spirit to faithfully uphold the Constitution. An independent judiciary is the cornerstone of the rule of law. The absence of a code of ethics for “the Justices of the Court imperils the legitimacy of the Court . . . and potentially imperils the legitimacy of all American courts and the American judicial system, given the Court’s central role enshrined in our federal republic.” See Federalist Paper 78.
It is critically important that the public trusts and has confidence in our judiciary, including the highest court in the land. The WBA calls on the Supreme Court to adopt a binding code of judicial ethics.
Approved by Board, December 12, 2024