Los Angeles Times

Commentary: The Supreme Court finally has a code of ethics, but it has a fatal flaw

Police officers ride on motorcycles pass the U.S. Supreme Court Building on June 26, 2023, in Washington, D.C..

Although it is welcome and overdue that the Supreme Court finally adopted an ethics code for its justices on Monday, the approach is seriously flawed in that it includes no enforcement mechanism. Instead it continues to leave it to each justice to decide whether to be recused in a particular case.

Until Monday, every judge in the country — state and federal — was bound by an ethics code, except for the most important jurists:, most notably Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, highlighted this absence.

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