Luján, Welch Introduce Legislation to Ban Gifts for Supreme Court Justices

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Peter Welch (D-VT) led U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in introducing the High Court Gift Ban Act, legislation that would ban Supreme Court justices from receiving gifts valued at over $50 and help strengthen ethical standards of the Supreme Court. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) introduced companion legislation in the House.

Under current law, Supreme Court justices are not held to the same restrictions on accepting gifts that apply to Members of Congress, federal judges, and other federal officials. Recent analysis by Fix the Court estimates that in the last two decades, Supreme Court justices have accepted hundreds of gifts valued at nearly $5 million.

“The Supreme Court – our nation’s highest and most powerful court – should be held to the highest ethical standards to protect our democracy from the power of influence and dark money,” said Senator Luján. “Over the past few years, I’ve seen far too many troubling reports detailing how lavish trips and gifts have compromised the integrity of our justices. That is why I’ve partnered with Senator Welch and my colleagues to introduce the High Court Gift Ban Act to hold Supreme Court justices to the same ethical standards as other high-ranking federal officials.”

“For years, conservative Supreme Court Justices have accepted expensive gifts and travel from their friends who have business before the Court. It’s unethical, and it’s why public trust in the Court has eroded. Those serving on the Supreme Court should be held to the same ethical standards as every other federal judge—and it’s high time they are,” said Senator Welch. “I’m proud to partner with Senator Luján on this bill to increase accountability and restore public trust in our nation’s most powerful court.”

“The Supreme Court’s refusal to adopt an enforceable code of ethics, even after revelations that individual justices accepted undisclosed gifts, has contributed to declining public trust in this vital institution. Since the Court remains unwilling to implement an ethical code that prohibits extravagant gifts, Congress must take action. This legislation will help hold the Supreme Court to a higher standard – one that already applies to other federal courts and to Congress – to prevent undue influence on its decision-making from deep-pocketed private interests,” said Senator Van Hollen.

“American democracy can only work if the public has trust in its institutions,” Senator Wyden said. “With more and more Supreme Court ethics violations being uncovered, the public’s trust in the Court has been shaken to its core. It’s not just unacceptable but morally wrong that those sitting on our nation’s highest court can get away with accepting lavish gifts from just about anybody. Supreme Court justices should be held to the same standards as other federal officials so that faith can begin to be restored in one of America’s most powerful institutions.”

“Unreported gift scandals and blatant breaches of basic ethics have eroded public faith in the Supreme Court,” said Senator Padilla. “The highest court in the land should not be subject to the lowest ethical standards. This commonsense legislation to establish more stringent, enforceable gift limits is an important step to restoring trust in our courts.”

“Americans deserve U.S. Supreme Court Justices subject to the same ethical standards that other federal officials—including judges—must meet, and doing so would strengthen transparency, accountability and trust,” said Senator Shaheen. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing the High Court Gift Ban Act to take a crucial step to restore public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court.”

“We applaud Sens. Lujan and Welch for moving forward with this common-sense measure to help end the ethical crisis at the Supreme Court,” said Svante Myrick, President of People For the American Way. “There’s no reason why federal judges and justices should be able to accept gifts and vacations from millionaires and billionaires who want to buy favors. We don’t allow costly gifts to members of Congress and this bill brings limits for judges into line with those for lawmakers. We urge the Senate and House to pass this legislation and take this vital step to restore public trust in our courts.”      

“In recent years, both Democratic and Republican judicial appointees have accepted costly gifts they shouldn’t have — or at the very least should’ve paid for themselves. This legislation would change this unfortunate third-branch exceptionalism by applying the same gift rules Congress follows to judges and justices. I applaud Sen. Lujan and Sen. Welch for seeking to use their Article I power to set sensible ethics rules for those who clearly need them,” said Fix the Court executive director Gabe Roth.

“The highest court in our country is presently held to the lowest standards in all of government, permitted to accept all manner of largesse and gifts that are rightly banned for those in Congress and the Executive Branch. The High Court Gift Ban is a sensible, fair proposal to end the acceptance of lavish gifts and ‘hospitality’ by Supreme Court justices, which is vital to protect the independence of the Court. We thank Senator Lujan and all sponsors for introduction of this critical legislation,” said Sarah Turberville, Director of The Constitution Project at the Project on Government Oversight.

“AFJ applauds Senators Welch and Luján for introducing commonsense legislation today that will prevent improper ‘gifts’ from influencing our federal courts,” said Keith Thirion, interim co-president of the Alliance for Justice. “These restrictions already apply to Congress and other federal workers for good reason. It’s an important step to restore faith in our federal courts.”

“We cannot continue to allow unethical behavior by federal judges and justices to go unchecked,” said Nan Aron, founder of the Supreme Court Integrity Project. “The fact that members of the federal judiciary can accept extravagant gifts, luxury travel, and personal favors from wealthy individuals with business before the Court is simply unacceptable. That’s why this legislation is so important: it makes clear that federal judges and justices are not above the law and will be held accountable.”

“Other public officials have been abiding by these basic ethics standards for decades,” said Alex Aronson, Executive Director of Court Accountability. “Americans have no reason to expect anything less from Supreme Court justices whose decisions impact every aspect of their lives. We applaud Senator Luján for his leadership on this issue, and urge the Senate to act quickly and pass this bill, which would be a major step toward ensuring that no one can buy influence with the judiciary at the expense of the American people.”

The High Court Gift Ban Act does the following:

• Bans justices (Supreme Court and all 2,300 lower court judges) from receiving gifts valued at more than $50 in a single instance or more than $100 in aggregate in a year;
• Caps gifts of personal hospitality, which are currently unregulated, at a value equal to the tax threshold for personal gifts, currently about $18,000;
• Contains exemptions in line with those for Members of Congress;
• Enforces prohibitions by requiring referrals to the Attorney General for investigation;
• Aligns civil and criminal penalties for non-compliance with the government-wide financial disclosure law, the Ethics in Government Act:
  • Up to $50,000 for civil violations;
  • Fines and up to one year in prison for criminal penalties.

Full text of the bill can be found here.

The High Court Gift Ban Act is endorsed by: Accountable.US, AFT, Alliance for Justice, American Humanist Association, Center for American Progress, Clean Elections Texas (CETex), Common Cause, Courage California, Court Accountability, Courts Matter Illinois, Demand Justice, DemCast USA, Demos Action, End Citizens United/Let America Vote Action Fund, Enough of Gun Violence, Faithful Democracy, Fix the Court, Free Speech For People, FRFF Action Fund, Get Money Out – Maryland, Greenpeace USA, Indivisible, League of Conservation Voters, Michiganders for Fair & Transparent Elections, MoveOn, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Association of Social Workers, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Ohio Fair Courts Alliance, P Street, People For the American Way, People Power United, Project on Government Oversight, Public Citizen, Reproductive Freedom for All, Secular Coalition for America, Secure Elections Network, Stand Up America, Supreme Court Integrity Project, Take Back the Court Action Fund, True North Research, United Church of Christ, Voices for Progress, and Walking To Fix Our Democracy.

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