Coons, Cornyn bill to enhance judicial ethics and transparency requirements passes House

Statement

Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, legislation from Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and John Cornyn (R-TX) to require online publication of financial disclosure reports for federal judges and mandate that federal judges submit periodic transaction reports for certain securities transactions.

"Every litigant deserves to have confidence that they will receive a fair hearing with an unbiased judge when they get their day in court," said Senator Coons. "I commend the House of Representatives for overwhelmingly passing this necessary legislation, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to pass our bill and put it on the President's desk."

"Federal judges were wrongly excluded from the disclosure requirements put in place by the STOCK Act, which helps bolster public trust in our institutions," said Senator Cornyn. "I applaud my colleagues in the House for moving my legislation, which would help prevent conflicts of interest and ensure federal judges are subject to the same level of transparency as other officials."

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