The House passed a bill on Wednesday to require federal and Supreme Court judges to be more transparent about potential conflicts of interests and financial holdings.
Known as the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, the bill was unanimously approved by the Senate back in February and just passed via voice vote in the House, and will now advance to President Biden’s desk.
“This is a great day for justice, for litigants all across the country, and this increased transparency will assure that justice can be blind going forward,” North Carolina Democratic Rep. Deborah Ross said.
Judges will now have 45 days to disclose stock transactions of more than $1000. Judicial disclosure forms will also be posted in an online database maintained by the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.
The bill comes after the Wall Street Journal reported in September that “131 federal judges improperly heard 685 court cases between 2010 and 2018 in which they or their family members owned shares of companies that were plaintiffs or defendants in the litigation.”
In the Senate, the bill was sponsored by Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Delaware Democratic Senator Chris Coons.
“One of the bedrocks of American democracy is our independent judiciary, and it is imperative that federal judges are held to the same standard of transparency as other federal officials under the STOCK Act,” Cornyn stated. “This legislation will help bring potential conflicts of interest to light and bolster public trust in our judicial system, and I’m glad it is on its way to the President’s desk.”
Coons added that the “law will help protect our legal system from conflicts of interests.”
A spokesman for Biden said that the bill seemed to be “aligned” with Biden’s goals of “furthering ethics and transparency in government and restoring trust in institutions.”
The legislation for greater transparency in the judicial branch comes as there has been a renewed push to investigate potential instances of insider trading by members of Congress and for regulations on how members buy and sell stocks.
Back in January, Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley introduced the Banning Insider Trading In Congress Act, which would ban members of Congress and their spouses from buying and selling individual stocks.
“Year after year, politicians somehow manage to outperform the market, buying and selling millions in stocks of companies they’re supposed to be regulating. Wall Street and Big Tech work hand-in-hand with elected officials to enrich each other at the expense of the country,” Hawley said at the time.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faced criticism after she defended stock trading for members of Congress. However, Pelosi has since appeared to backtrack and has allowed moves toward a ban to go forward.