Sen. Elizabeth Warren has announced her plan to restore "trust in an impartial and ethical judiciary," one year after the shameful confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. "It’s time to ensure that judges do not hear cases where they have conflicts of interests, strengthen our nation's ethics rules for judges, and ensure accountability for judges who violate these rules," she wrote in a Medium post announcing the plan.
She cites numerous instances of judges acting badly: Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski, who resigned after more than a dozen female law clerks detailed sexual misconduct allegations against him, and who gets his full taxpayer funded pension for life; Maryanne Trump Barry (yes, sister of that Trump) who resigned to end an investigation into the Trump family's potential tax fraud; Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas who did not recuse themselves from the Citizens United case despite their coziness—and all-expense paid retreats—with dark money masters the Kochs; Clarence Thomas's failure—over 13 years—to list the $690,000 in payments his wife has received from the Heritage Foundation in his financial disclosures. Then there's Kavanaugh, who demonstrably lied to Congress during his appellate and Supreme Court hearings and who had a whopping 83 ethics complaints lodged against him—all dismissed once he was confirmed.
Warrens’ plan involves changing the law to extend the Code of Conduct of United State Judges which other federal judges are bound by to the Supreme Court, where there is currently no procedure to file complaints—there's no recourse when justices refuse to recuse themselves from cases where they have conflicts. She would also strengthen the code to prevent judges from accepting all-expense-paid-trips and exorbitant speaking fees, but establishing "a modest fund to help cover reasonable expenses" to "ensure that judges continue to interact with the public without the appearance of impropriety."
Warren would also have investigations into judicial misconduct continue even after a judge is either promoted to the Supreme Court or resigns—cases are automatically dismissed now in either case. She would also allow the Judicial Conference and Judicial Councils, the ethics watchdog, the ability to strip taxpayer funded non-vested pensions from sitting or retired judges for serious misconduct.
She would "work to prevent judicial misconduct against employees and law clerks by supporting strong climate surveys, questionnaires to court employees about the work environment in our federal courts, to help the judiciary understand how to improve the culture within our courts." Finally, and this is a good one, "a new, fast-track impeachment process for federal judges who commit impeachable offenses." Of course, it would happen with due process, but would "ensure that any impeachment referrals will trigger a series of automatic rules under which the House Judiciary Committee will conduct a thorough investigation and vote without unnecessary delay."
Warren says her proposed changes "will not only allow us to ensure accountability for bad actors, including reopening inquiries into the conduct of offenders like Brett Kavanaugh," but also "hold the vast majority of judges who act in good faith to the highest ethical standards, and in the process, begin to restore accountability and trust in a fair and impartial federal judiciary."