WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday there are more Supreme Court can do to “adhere to the highest standards” of ethical conduct, an acknowledgment that recent reports on ethical lapses by judges are having an effect on public perception of the court.
Speaking at a lawyers’ dinner where he was honored with an award, Roberts did not provide details, but said the judges “are continuing to look at the things we can do to give practical effect to that commitment.”
He said he is “sure there are ways to do it in accordance with our status as an independent branch of government and the Constitution’s separation of powers.”
He court has resisted adopting its own code of ethicsand Roberts has raised questions about whether Congress could impose a code of conduct in court.
The nine justices recently signed an ethics statement that Roberts delivered to the Senate Judiciary Committee. His comments on Tuesday suggested that he knows that statement is not enough to calm critics.
The chief justice’s comments follow a series of stories, primarily from the investigative news site ProPublica, which have detailed lavish travel and other gifts provided to Judge Clarence Thomas by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.
democrats they have used the revelations to call for stricter ethics rules for the Supreme Court, and the Democratic-controlled Senate has held two hearings on ethics issues in recent weeks. republicans have defended Thomas.
Roberts, who has led the court since 2005, also said the most difficult decision he made as chief justice was keeping protesters away from the court last year, after the draft opinion was leaked. reversing Roe v. Wade.
“The most difficult decision I had to make in 18 years was to put up fences and barricades around the Supreme Court. I had no choice but to go ahead and do it,” he said at the American Law Institute dinner in Washington.
The fence was removed before the court’s new term began in October.