SCOTUS House: Can a Supreme Court Ethics Lawyer and Inspector General Help Get this Fraternity under Control

Abstract

In 2023, the United States Supreme Court is immersed in an ethics crisis of unprecedented proportions. Public confidence in the Court is at an all-time low and Congress is considering action. The Court is less likely to police itself than it was a generation ago when Justice Abraham Fortas resigned over a scandal that was probably less serious than that facing at least one justice today. This article discusses the Court’s recent scandals and explains multiple factors that make the Court prone to ethics lapses, perhaps more so than the other two branches of government. This Article then proposes that a partial solution to the Supreme Court ethics crisis would be to have a dedicated ethics lawyer and an inspector general for the Supreme Court. There are specific ways in which an ethics lawyer and an inspector general should help reverse the factors identified in this Article as obstructing a workable ethics regime at the Court. Congress has the power and responsibility to enact these and other reforms necessary to assure that the Court’s justices in their personal conduct uphold their duty to be faithful to the law while holding an office that gives them the power to interpret and enforce the law.

Keywords: Supreme Court Ethics