The New York City Bar Association has determined that the U.S. Constitution grants the power to enact "binding and enforceable ethics rules" for members of the , adding to calls for the nation's highest court to face reform after a string of scandals.
In a released on Monday, the New York City Bar said that lawmakers have the power to act on Supreme Court reform under three provisions in the Constitution, including the Necessary and Proper Clause in Article I, which the City Bar said is the "clearest basis for congressional authority to enact a binding ethics code for the Supreme Court." The clause in question states that Congress has the power to make "all Laws which shall be necessary and proper" related to legislative powers as well as "all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof." "This provision expressly authorizes Congress to make laws to implement the coordinate branches' powers," read a release that accompanied the City Bar's report on Monday.
The City Bar also assessed that the impeachment provision in Article II grants Congress the power to hold justices to a code of ethics, as the provision "lies at the heart of our system of checks and balances." The report also pointed to the provision in Article III of the Constitution, which states that a judge may remain in office only under "good Behaviour." The report comes as President and other are pressing , including the introduction of ter.
