State Supreme Court Facing Similar Issues as Federal Supreme Court, But Rules Are Different for the State

Friday, August 2nd, 2024 -- 12:01 PM

(Rich Kremer, Wisconsin Public Radio) With claims that the U.S. Supreme Court is facing a “crisis of ethics” due to conflicts of interest and recent rulings, President Joe Biden is calling for term limits and a binding code of ethics for justices.

According to Rich Kremer with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court has faced similar claims, but the rules for justices are different here. In an Washington Post op-ed, Biden railed against the U.S. Supreme Court’s July 1 ruling that granted former President Donald Trump and future presidents broad immunity from prosecution for alleged crimes committed while in office.

Biden called for three significant changes, including a constitutional amendment stripping presidents of immunity for crimes committed while in office, 18-year term limits for U.S. Supreme Court Justices and “a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court.”

Last year, the nation’s highest court adopted a code of conduct, but George Mason University Law Professor Ilya Somin told WPR it’s voluntary. “Under the current system, the Supreme Court ethics code really doesn’t have an enforcement mechanism,” Somin said. “It’s up to the individual justices to decide what they think the code means and how to follow it.”

Somin said Biden’s proposals are good, in theory, but very light on details. He said he believes Congress has the power to impose “at least some ethics rules” on the Supreme Court, but the 18-year term limit for justices or lower federal judges would require an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Jennifer Ahearn, Senior Counsel with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Judiciary Program, told WPR she thinks the court’s recent rulings, like its 2022 decision overturning federal abortion protections, along with news about undisclosed gifts to some justices, have driven public opinion of the Supreme Court to a record low.

Somin said he believes the low rating is due to recent rulings and not reporting about Thomas’ gifts. A 2023 survey by the Pew Research Center found 54 percent of Americans surveyed have an unfavorable view of the court, while only 44 percent have a favorable view.

Pew reported it’s the first time since the annual survey began in 1987 that the public’s view of the court was significantly more negative than positive. There are a number of bills before Congress that would create enforcement mechanisms for the U.S. Supreme Court’s ethics code along the lines of what Biden is recommending.

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