Introduction

Article III of the United States Constitution created the Supreme Court of the United States and provided the Court’s justices with lifetime appointments. Federalist Paper #78 argued that the Supreme Court was meant to be a check on power of Congress and that the lifetime appointment was meant to ensure the independence of the Court and to alleviate political pressure and outside influence on the Court. Recently, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear numerous controversial cases and has issued related decisions that contrast with the majority of Americans’ views. While rulings that are contrary to public opinion could be seen as a sign of judicial independence of the Supreme Court, allegations of undue influence have been made against several justices and public confidence in the Court is at historically low levels. In a recent poll, 7 out of 10 Americans viewed the Supreme Court as influenced by ideology and only 3 in 10 Americans viewed the Supreme Court as impartial judges (AP).

The Supreme Court is not subject to the same ethics code as other federal judges. Historically, the Supreme Court has policed their own ethics – although recent scandals involving unreported gifts has made the Supreme Court’s self-enforcement of their ethics code seem inadequate. Justices are also supposed to recuse themselves from ruling in cases where they have a conflict of interest; however, independent watchdog groups and the media have identified cases over the past several years where justices have perceived conflicts of interest and the justices have chosen not to recuse themselves. In response to these concerns, the United States Senate has proposed a set of ethical reforms for the Supreme Court to be enforced by the Judicial Conference.

This deliberation presents twelve video clips, four articles, and numerous education activities to guide students through a review of the debate over whether the adoption of new ethics reforms by the Supreme Court would restore public confidence in the Court. After careful review of differing perspectives on the issue, students will determine whether the adoption of new ethics reforms by the Supreme Court would restore public confidence in the Court.

Objectives and Outcomes

• Students will be able to describe key vocabulary and terms associated with the issue of Supreme Court ethics reforms.
  
  
• Students will be able to compare and contrast the arguments both for and against the adoption of ethics reforms by the Supreme Court.
  
  
• Students will be able to compose an argument in support or opposition to the proposed ethics reforms for the Supreme Court, with an understanding of whether the reforms would restore confidence in the court or not.