Coalition Urges Comprehensive Approach to Judicial Ethics Reform
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 11, 2022
CONTACT: [email protected]
COALITION URGES COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO JUDICIAL ETHICS REFORM
WASHINGTON, DC— A coalition of 20 progressive organizations sent a letter to leadership of the House Committee on the Judiciary highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach to judicial ethics reform in advance of Wednesday’s markup of the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2022. The letter encourages the Committee to address the wide range of ethical crises facing the judiciary by passing that bill as well as the Twenty-First Century Courts Act and the Judicial Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act of 2022,which was announced by Sen. Warren and Rep. Jayapal earlier this week.
The letter reads, in part: “While the recent revelations regarding Justice Thomas’s conflicts of interest are jaw-dropping, they are only the latest in a long list of examples of the Court failing to enforce basic standards of judicial ethics. … The SCERT Act is a critical first step in restoring confidence in the Supreme Court by imposing meaningful and enforceable ethics guidelines on the justices. … We would also encourage you to adopt additional legislation that would provide even further transparency and accountability of the Supreme Court.”
The letter is signed by: Alliance for Justice, American Atheists, American Humanist Association, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF) Center for Popular Democracy Action, CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers, Demand Justice, Equal Justice Society, Equality California, Equality Federation, FORGE, Inc., Freedom From Religion Foundation, Indivisible, interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth, League of Conservation Voters, Minority Veterans of America, People’s Parity Project, Secular Coalition for America, and Stand Up America.
The full letter can be found here.
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