Fix the Court’s Gabe Roth released this statement in response to the Supreme Court’s new filing requirements that will help the justices run conflict checks via new software:

“Per their most recent disclosures, only two justices, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, own individual stocks, with the former holding shares in two companies and the latter holding shares in more than two dozen. So although the new rule is a net positive since it comes in service of the full Court’s adoption of conflict-check software, it’s not a major improvement, and it should not have taken 827 days post-Code to implement.

“That’s especially true since lower court judges have been required to use software-based conflict screening for 20 years, and several justices have been rumored to continue to use it after they were elevated.

“If the justices wanted to institute a more effective change related to their ethics and their investments, they’d agree as a Court not to hold any stocks during their tenures, since all it does is cause unnecessary recusals. An investor-justice could own a blended fund, mutual fund or ETF and reap the same benefits with a far reduced conflict exposure. In fact, seven of the nine justices have made this very calculation.

“Since a complete Roberts-Alito selloff is unlikely to happen, I’m looking favorably at a Rep. Joe Morelle proposal from last month that would ban stock ownership both for the justices and for lower court judges, with the latter having their own well-documented ethical issues with investments. Public service requires certain sacrifices in the name of ethics, and going stock-free should be one of them for all branches of government.

“Public service also demands public input, and it’s a bit ridiculous that the Court can simply release new rules without a notice-and-comment period or opportunity for public views. It’s yet another example of the Court acting exceptionally in all the wrong ways.”

Additional information:
Of the 39 SCOTUS recusals so far this term, 11 of them (28%) have been due to Justice Alito’s stock ownership. Last term, that number was 34% (28 of 83). Roberts’ last stock-based recusal occurred in Dec. 2021.