Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act
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Progress
Where this bill stands in the legislative process.
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To President
- Became Law
Overview
This bill establishes two new offices within the Supreme Court: an Office of Ethics Counsel and an Office of Investigative Counsel. The Office of Ethics Counsel will advise justices on ethical matters like financial disclosures and conflicts of interest, while the Office of Investigative Counsel will review ethics complaints against justices and their families. Both offices will be staffed by attorneys with specific qualifications and receive substantial annual salaries, and the Investigative Counsel will have subpoena power to investigate complaints.
Key provisions
- Creates an Office of Ethics Counsel to advise justices on judicial ethics.
- Creates an Office of Investigative Counsel to review ethics complaints against justices.
- Establishes minimum annual salaries for Ethics Counsel ($225,000) and Investigative Counsel ($225,000 and $180,000 respectively).
- Requires Justices to participate in biannual ethics training.
- Grants the Investigative Counsel authority to issue subpoenas.
- Specifies who can file ethics complaints against justices.
- Requires the Office of Investigative Counsel to report findings to the Chief Justice and Congress.
- Provides for a report to the most senior associate justice in the case of complaints involving the Chief Justice.
Who is affected
- Supreme Court Justices
- Spouses and Dependents of Supreme Court Justices
- Members of Congress (House and Senate Judiciary Committees)
Bill text
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Sponsors
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11 on record
Primary sponsor
Cosponsors
![Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] Norton](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcivik-platform-media-us-east-1-prod.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Flegislator-portraits%2Fcongress%2FN000147.jpg&w=64&q=75){kind=small}
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