The Democratic chair of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday argued during a closed-door federal judiciary meeting attended by Chief U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts that the high court's recently-adopted ethical code of conduct falls short and needs a means of enforcement, a person familiar with the matter said.
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois spoke as one of several lawmakers invited to attend the semi-annual meeting of the U.S. Judicial Conference, the federal judiciary's top policymaking body, which Roberts heads.
The meetings are closed to the public. But a person familiar with the matter said Durbin used his in-person appearance before Roberts, who was seated next to him, to renew his calls for Supreme Court reform.
After Durbin was done speaking, Roberts thanked him for his remarks and his ongoing dialogue on the issue, the person said. Supreme Court spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, in November adopted its first formal code of conduct governing the ethical behavior for its nine justices.
The court was under pressure to do so, after a series of media reports detailed undisclosed gifts and trips received by some Supreme Court members, particularly luxury trips taken by conservative Justice Clarence Thomas that were funded by billionaire benefactor, Texas businessman Harlan Crow.
Durbin and other Democrats have criticized the code for continuing to leave decisions to recuse from cases to the justices themselves and providing no mechanism of enforcement, unlike the code of conduct that governs lower-court judges.
Democratic President Joe Biden in July called on Congress to adopt a binding, enforceable code of conduct for the justices.
Durbin has spoken at the Judicial Conference's meetings several times over the years and had used a prior appearance in September 2023 to argue for the creation of a code of conduct, again with Roberts present.
At Tuesday's meeting, Durbin told Roberts and lower-court judges in attendance that the Supreme Court's newly-adopted ethics code was an important step but that the court should act without delay to make it enforceable, the person familiar with the matter said.
He noted several sitting justices have publicly endorsed the idea of an enforceable code of conduct, the person said. Liberal Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson have in recent public appearances and media interviews said they are open to an enforceable code of conduct.
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