Barrett Says US Supreme Court Ethics Code Is a ‘Good Idea’ (1)

US Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett said she’s in favor of the court adopting a formal ethics code.

“I think it would be a good idea for us to do it, particularly so that we can communicate to the public exactly what it is that we’re doing in a clear way,” she said while speaking at the University of Minnesota Law School on Monday in Minneapolis.

Democrats and outside interest groups began calling on the court to adopt a formal code of conduct after ProPublica published a series of reports detailing how Justice Clarence Thomas has failed to disclose lavish vacations, the proceeds of a real estate deal, and private school tuition payments for his grandnephew that he had received from Republican donor Harlan Crow.

Barrett has kept a relatively low profile since taking the bench in October 2020 and in past appearances hasn’t taken the opportunity like some of her colleagues have to comment publicly on the court’s ethics issues, credibility, or public standing.

At a September appearance, Justice Elena Kagan said there was some “good faith” disagreement among the justices about what form a code of conduct should take, but Barrett said the justices were aligned on wanting to adopt one.

“I will say this, there is no lack of consensus among the justices,” she said. “There is unanimity among all nine of the justices that we should and do hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards possible.”

Barrett said the justices are thinking about how best to express what they’re already doing, noting the federal statutes that require all judges, including Supreme Court justices, to disclose their finances and the gift they accept.

“Our day job is reading statutes and seeing if Congress anticipated everything or communicated everything clearly and so, I think, we want to do a good job with that,” she said.

Barrett wouldn’t give a timeline for the court’s release of a formal code.

“That’s something that I can’t really speak for the court about or make any sort of guess about that,” she said.

Protests

Barrett, who was appearing as part of the law school’s Robert A. Stein Lecture Series, was interrupted by protesters shortly after taking the stage.

Stein, a professor and former dean of the law school, had only gotten to about his fourth question when a row of people in the balcony stood up and yelled, “Not the Court. Not the state. People must decide their fate.” and “Reproductive rights are under attack. What do we do? Stand up, fight back.”

Roughly 2,000 people were seated in the campus theater for the question-and-answer style interview with Stein and many started clapping when police began removing protesters from the theater.

Stein then tried to lighten the mood.

“You know, Justice Barrett, we really are Minnesota nice and we don’t treat other people like that very often at all, so we’re so delighted you’re here,” he said before diving back into his questions.

Barrett, 51, was nominated by former President Donald Trump to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020. Her confirmation cemented a 6-3 conservative majority on the court that’s since voted to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, effectively end the use of affirmative action in college admissions decisions, and expand gun rights.

Security at Monday’s event was tight with the street leading to Northrop theater barricaded and multiple police standing guard both inside and outside of the building.

Attendees had to walk through metal detectors outside and were prohibited from bringing purses or bags into the auditorium. At least 14 police officers were inside the auditorium during Barrett’s appearance.

Attendees were told at the start of Monday’s event that demonstrations or disruptions wouldn’t be permitted during the lecture even though the school honors free speech and the expression rights of its community members.

In August at the Seventh Circuit’s Judicial Conference in Wisconsin, Barrett said public scrutiny of the court should be welcomed and that she has developed a “thick skin” when it comes to public criticism, The Washington Post reported.

Barrett isn’t the first justice to attend the lecture series at the law school. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sonia Sotomayor have participated in past years, as well as the late Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia.