, Chief Justice John Roberts took it upon himself to explain that the Supreme Court, unlike every other court in the U.S., had “no reason to adopt the Code of Conduct as its definitive source of ethical guidance.” I disagreed strongly at the time, as have many observers ever since, who have demanded that the court adopt a set of written ethics rules. But I am beginning to have my doubts.
The real reason to stop hoping for a Supreme Court code of ethics is that it would probably have no meaningful effect on the justices who need it most. They would simply ignore or evade it, just as they have disregarded existing ethics legislation. Justice Clarence Thomas, in particular, has made it painfully clear that he has no respect for ethics principles, whatever their source, and he has offered a nearly inexhaustible supply of excuses for why the rules don’t apply to him.