Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2025

Increased Accountability via Codes of Conduct: The bill requires the Supreme Court to issue a code of conduct for its justices and the Judicial Conference to issue codes for other judges (Section 2(a)).

Improved Transparency through Online Access: The Supreme Court must make its code of conduct and related rules available on its website in a searchable and downloadable format (Section 2, Sec. 366).

Formal Complaint Procedures: The bill establishes a way for individuals to file complaints regarding a justice's alleged violations of the code of conduct or federal law (Section 2, Sec. 367(a)).

Standardized Gift Disclosures: The bill establishes rules for the acceptance and disclosure of gifts, income, or reimbursements for justices and their law clerks, aligning them with Senate and House rules (Section 3).

Enhanced Disqualification Rules: Justices and judges must now ascertain their personal and fiduciary financial interests, as well as those of their spouses and minor children, to identify potential conflicts (Section 4(b)).

Public Notice of Disqualifications: The bill requires courts to publish timely notice on their websites when a justice or judge is disqualified, including an explanation of the reasons (Section 4(f)).

Amicus Brief Transparency: Those filing amicus briefs must list contributors who have provided significant financial support, providing more insight into who is influencing the court (Section 7, Sec. 1661).

Restrictions on Filing Complaints: The bill allows for the restriction of future complaints from individuals who are found to have filed repetitive, harassing, or frivolous complaints (Section 2, Sec. 367(a)(2)(B)).

Increased Burden of Disclosure for Parties and Amici: Parties and amici must now provide descriptions and values of gifts, income, or reimbursements received by justices, as well as details on lobbying contacts or substantial funding (Section 6).

Potential Disqualification of Amicus Briefs: The bill directs the Supreme Court and Judicial Conference to create rules that could result in the prohibition or striking of amicus briefs that would cause a justice or judge to be disqualified (Section 8).