{"id":2342858,"date":"2024-09-18T12:59:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T16:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/durbin-pressed-roberts-in-person-to-enact-binding-supreme-court-ethics-code-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-18T13:02:23","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T17:02:23","slug":"durbin-pressed-roberts-in-person-to-enact-binding-supreme-court-ethics-code-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/durbin-pressed-roberts-in-person-to-enact-binding-supreme-court-ethics-code-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Durbin pressed Roberts in person to enact binding Supreme Court ethics code &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdurbin-pressed-roberts-in-person-to-enact-binding-supreme-court-ethics-code-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2342858&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senate Judiciary Committee \u200dChairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) urged Chief Justice \u200dJohn Roberts during the Supreme Court&#8217;s\u2064 recent Judicial Conference to implement enforceable ethics\u2064 reforms for the court. Durbin highlighted\u2063 that the\u2062 recently adopted \u200dethics guidelines lack \u200cenforcement mechanisms, despite being a step forward. \u200bHis concerns\u2064 are amplified\u2063 by \u200dongoing\u2064 scrutiny of justices accepting undisclosed gifts.\u200b Other justices, notably Elena Kagan and\u200b Ketanji Brown Jackson, have shown support for stronger oversight. The meeting included discussions on\u2062 judiciary cybersecurity and was attended \u2064by several\u200d key judiciary figures. Durbin emphasized \u2062the need for legislative efforts to prevent\u200d &#8220;judge shopping&#8221; and indicated that the Biden \u2062administration supports broader judicial reforms if Democrats gain \u2064full control in future elections.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Durbin pressed Roberts in person to enact binding Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kennedy-gives-cover-to-whitehouses-latest-attack-on-supreme-courts-conservatives\/\" title=\"Kennedy Gives Cover to Whitehouse\u2019s Latest Attack on Supreme Court\u2019s Conservatives\">ethics code<\/a><\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1762050\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/dick-durbin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Dick Durbin<\/a> (D-IL) directly pressed Chief Justice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-roberts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>John Roberts<\/a> on the need for enforceable ethics reforms during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Supreme Court<\/a>&rsquo;s semiannual Judicial Conference on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Durbin, who has long advocated a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-democrats-to-push-binding-supreme-court-ethics-code-bill-as-gop-balks\/\" title=\"Senate Democrats plan to advance a bill enforcing a binding ethics code for the Supreme Court, despite Republican opposition.\">binding ethics code<\/a> for justices, expressed his concerns to Roberts during the twice-annual meeting of the Judicial Conference, the judiciary&rsquo;s policymaking body chaired by Roberts. Durbin renewed his arguments that recently adopted ethics guidelines for the high court remain inadequate due to the absence of enforcement mechanisms, a source familiar with the event told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Durbin&rsquo;s push comes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-grill-facebook-over-leaked-internal-research-on-instagrams-harmful-impact-on-teens\/\" title=\"Lawmakers Grill Facebook Over Leaked Internal Research on Instagram\u2019s Harmful Impact on Teens\">amid growing scrutiny<\/a> of the justices following reports that some had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/durbin-manages-left-flank-with-supreme-court-pressure-campaign\/\" title=\"Durbin leads Supreme Court pressure campaign on the left side\">accepted undisclosed gifts<\/a> from donors. While the court introduced an ethics code last year, critics, including Durbin and Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/sheldon-whitehouse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sheldon Whitehouse<\/a> (D-RI), have continued to call for stronger oversight. Democratic-appointed Justices <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3100547\/kagan-says-supreme-court-needs-mechanism-enforce-ethics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Elena Kagan<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3140691\/ketanji-brown-jackson-back-enforceable-ethics-code\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Ketanji Brown Jackson<\/a> have indicated their openness to an enforceable code, with Kagan endorsing the idea in July and Jackson supporting it earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to judiciary officials, Durbin acknowledged the adoption of the ethics code as a positive step but emphasized that it falls short of public expectations. He also urged the Judicial Conference to support legislation aimed at curbing judge shopping, the practice of filing cases in courts perceived more likely to offer favorable rulings, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bloomberglaw.com\/us-law-week\/durbin-tells-judiciary-high-court-ethics-code-falls-short\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>according<\/a> to a report from <em>Bloomberg<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Chief Justice John Roberts, center, declined a meeting with Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), left, and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), right, over requests for Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from Donald Trump and Jan. 6-related cases.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>In addition to Roberts, the meeting was attended by other key figures, including Attorney General Merrick Garland and several members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, such as Whitehouse and Sens. John Kennedy (R-LA) and Susan Collins (R-ME).<\/p>\n<p>Judge Jeffrey Sutton, who leads the Judicial Conference&rsquo;s executive committee, briefed reporters on the meeting&rsquo;s focus, which included significant discussions on boosting the judiciary&rsquo;s cybersecurity precautions. Sutton stressed that there was not a specific threat but raised general concerns from the intelligence community about the heightened risk of foreign cyberattacks during the 2024 election cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Judge Michael Scudder of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit highlighted the need for increased vigilance within the judiciary&rsquo;s IT systems.<\/p>\n<p>Durbin&rsquo;s push for stronger Supreme Court ethics oversight comes as the Biden-Harris administration has chosen to embrace judiciary reform proposals that they say would be enacted if Democrats have full control of Congress and the executive branch following the election. It also comes after Roberts became the target of recent leaks out of the Supreme Court, which included&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3155397\/chief-justice-john-roberts-targeted-supreme-court-leak\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">internal memos<\/a>&nbsp;that characterized him as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/15\/us\/justice-roberts-trump-supreme-court.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>strong-arming<\/a>&nbsp;other members of the court to build consensus on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/american-booksellers-association-ceo-apologizes-for-emailing-cover-of-racist-candace-owens-book\/\" title=\"American Bookseller\u2019s Association CEO Apologizes For Emailing Cover Of \u2018Racist\u2019 Candace Owens Book\">legal cases involving<\/a> former President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Harris&rsquo;s campaign said in August that her views on judicial reforms were &ldquo;aligned&rdquo; with a bill introduced by Whitehouse that would create 18-year term limits for justices, as well as stricter ethics and recusal rules.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Critics say these types of reforms could have a chilling effect on the judicial branch and disrupt the separation of powers. Republicans such as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have suggested that similar ethics legislation for the justices is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msnbc.com\/deadline-white-house\/deadline-legal-blog\/lindsey-graham-destroy-supreme-court-ethics-rcna95292\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>intended<\/a> to &ldquo;destroy a conservative court.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>For now, however, the question of whether Roberts and the judiciary will embrace binding reforms remains unclear.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1762050\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1762050\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) confronted Chief Justice John Roberts in person about the necessity for a binding ethics code for the Supreme Court during the court&#8217;s semiannual Judicial Conference on Tuesday. Durbin, a long-time proponent of enforceable ethics reforms, voiced his worries to Roberts at this meeting, which is chaired by Roberts and serves as the judiciary&#8217;s policymaking body. According to a source familiar with the discussion, Durbin reiterated that the recently implemented ethics guidelines for justices are insufficient because they lack enforcement provisions. His advocacy comes amid increasing scrutiny of justices following reports of undisclosed gifts received from donors. Although an ethics code was introduced last year, critics like Durbin and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) continue to demand stronger oversight measures. Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, both appointed by Democrats, have shown willingness towards an enforceable code; Kagan endorsed it in July while Jackson expressed support earlier this month. During his remarks to judiciary officials, Durbin acknowledged that adopting an ethics code was a positive move but stressed it does not meet public expectations. He also called on the Judicial Conference to back legislation aimed at preventing judge shopping\u2014where cases are filed in courts believed more likely to yield favorable outcomes\u2014as reported by Bloomberg.<\/p>\n<p>Chief Justice John Roberts declined a meeting with Senators Dick Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse regarding requests for Justice Samuel Alito\u2019s recusal from cases related to Donald Trump and January 6th events. The meeting included other significant figures such as Attorney General Merrick Garland and several members of the Senate Judiciary Committee including Whitehouse along with Senators John Kennedy (R-LA) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Judge Jeffrey Sutton, who leads the executive committee of the Judicial Conference, briefed reporters on discussions focused on enhancing cybersecurity within the judiciary amidst general concerns from intelligence agencies about increased risks of foreign cyberattacks during the upcoming 2024 election cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Durbin\u2019s call for enhanced oversight over Supreme Court ethics coincides with proposals from President Biden\u2019s administration advocating judicial reforms that could be pursued if Democrats gain full control after elections. This push follows recent leaks targeting Roberts that included internal memos suggesting he pressured other justices toward consensus on legal matters involving former President Trump. For instance, Vice President Harris&#8217;s campaign indicated her views align with legislation proposed by Whitehouse aiming for 18-year term limits for justices alongside stricter ethical standards and recusal rules.<\/p>\n<p>Critics argue such reforms might negatively impact judicial independence and disrupt separation of powers; Republicans like Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) claim these efforts aim to undermine a conservative court structure. Currently, it remains uncertain whether Chief Justice Roberts or others within the judiciary will adopt binding reforms<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2342859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Roberts_supreme_court_4.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[16015,39879,11006,32275,32076],"class_list":["post-2342858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-durbin","tag-ethics-code","tag-roberts","tag-supreme-court","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Roberts_supreme_court_4.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2342858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2342859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2342858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2342858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2342858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}