The U.S. Supreme Court Issues a Formal Code of Conduct Amid Scrutiny Over Ethics Practices

The Supreme Court issued a code of conduct signed by all nine justices on Monday, laying out formal rules after months of intense scrutiny of the court’s ethics practices.

The new code of conduct includes five canons that the justices should adhere to, including by upholding the “integrity and independence of the judiciary” and avoiding “impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities.”

It’s unclear how the new policy will be enforced. Though derived from the code of conduct that applies to federal judges on the lower courts, the justices said in a “commentary” accompanying their ethics practices that the new policy is “tailored to the Supreme Court’s placement at the head of a branch of our tripartite governmental structure.”

Read the source article at CBS News