New Supreme Court rules make it ‘much harder’ for justices to avoid reporting gifts
Kaelan Deese
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Supreme Court justices and federal judges are now required to disclose additional information surrounding free gifts, such as stays at commercial properties and other hospitable offerings, according to new regulations quietly approved by the federal judiciary’s administrative arm.
The head of the Judicial Conference, which governs rules for the federal courts, confirmed the changes in a March 23 letter made public on Tuesday by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who has pushed for ethics reforms for the Supreme Court and previously introduced legislation for the justices to adopt a code of ethics.
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“There will be no more secret ‘personal hospitality’ at commercial resorts; no more secret ‘personal hospitality’ from resort owners the justices don’t know personally; no more secret ‘personal hospitality’ solely because the invitation was delivered ‘personally’; and presumably no more partisan companions with interests before the Court tagging along on secret, all-expense-paid vacations,” Whitehouse wrote in a statement.
Under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, are required, like other government officials, to complete financial disclosure reports annually. Congress passed a law last year further requiring judges to periodically file financial disclosure reports and created a database that went live in November for the public to access such records.
The new regulations went into effect on March 14 but were not publicly known until the Tuesday release of Whitehouse’s March 23 letter. The information was relayed to the senator by U.S. District Judge Roslynn Mauskopf, the director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Ethics concerns over justices’ trips and gifts date back for years, such as issues that were raised with the late Justice Antonin Scalia for a case he heard surrounding then-Vice President Dick Cheney just weeks after the pair went on a hunting trip together.
Under the new rules, judges are still not required to disclose gifts that include meals, lodging, or entertainment provided by an individual for a non-business purpose.
But the revised rules make clear that judges are required to reveal stays at places such as hotels and resorts and if they receive gifts paid for by an entity or third party that is not the person who is directly providing the gift.
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Fix the Court founder Gabe Roth, who leads the advocacy group seeking reforms in the federal judiciary, told the Washington Examiner that he appreciates the Judicial Conference’s efforts to “restrict the clear loopholes in the judicial gift and travel reporting rules.”
“That said, it’s a shame that travel and gift reporting rules in the third branch will remain less stringent than those in the other two branches. Congress should pursue bipartisan legislation that would make the rules in all three branches on par with one another,” Roth said, referencing a bill backed by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) that would amend the EIGA to require more detailed gift and travel disclosure filings for judges.