Today, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02), Vice Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s release of an official Code of Conduct:

“In recent months, the American public has learned of concerning ethical behavior by Supreme Court justices that has further eroded confidence and trust in the American promise of blind and impartial justice. A Code of Conduct is long overdue, and I am grateful that the Supreme Court has finally taken steps towards a uniform code of conduct. However, this code does not include any meaningful enforcement mechanism and leaves the decision of recusal entirely up to the discretion of individual justices. It simply does not go far enough, and further action is needed to restore faith in our nation’s highest court.”

Congresswoman Ross’ legislation, the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, was signed into law last year. This legislation requires the online publication of financial disclosure reports for federal judges and mandates that federal judges submit periodic transaction reports for certain securities transactions.