Supreme Court justices will be required to be more accountable when filing their financial disclosures in accordance with new legislation.
According to the new guidance, justices will be required to report all personal gifts and free hospitality at commercial accommodations.
The regulations were updated by the Judicial Conference of the United States Committee on Financial Disclosure on Mar. 14.
The updates were made public in a letter from Administrative Office of the United States Courts Director Honorable Roslynn Mauskopf to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse — Whitehouse is the chair of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights.
"The following definition of 'personal hospitality of any individual' now appears in the Judicial Conference regulations: 'Hospitality extended for a nonbusiness purpose by an individual, not a corporation or organization, at the personal residence of that individual or his or her family or on property or facilities owned by that individual or his or her family,'" the letter reads.
The letter was a response to one Whitehouse filed on Feb. 21 asking for clarification on the rules concerning justices and personal gifts.
Justices and federal judges must also disclose when these gifts or services have been covered by a third party.
"The Judicial Conference’s updated rules on financial disclosure are a big step toward closing the loopholes that kept the public in the dark about who was paying for justices’ lavish lifestyles," Whitehouse said of the updated guidelines.
His statement continued, "These new rules will make it much harder for justices to travel, dine, hunt, or vacation for free at the private resort of a wealthy corporate executive – especially one with business before their court – and avoid disclosing that information to the public. I’m hopeful this rule is a harbinger of more ethics and transparency improvements to come for the Supreme Court."
