The Supreme Court said its new code of conduct largely compiles practices the justices informally followed.
Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/Associated PressWASHINGTON—The Supreme Court issued its first-ever code of conduct Monday, following months of scrutiny and criticism regarding ethical standards applying to the nine justices at the pinnacle of the nation’s legal system.
The 15-page document said it largely compiled practices the justices informally followed anyway.
But the lack of a formal document “has led in recent years to the misunderstanding that the Justices of this Court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules,” it says.
“To dispel this misunderstanding, we are issuing this Code, which largely represents a codification of principles that we have long regarded as governing our conduct.”
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Scott Applewhite, ”
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Associated Press WASHINGTON