S. 3914 — Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act

This section establishes an Office of Ethics Counsel within the Supreme Court of the United States, to be constituted by a chief ethics counsel (appointed by the Chief Justice, with basic pay of at least $225,000 annually and serving up to two 6-year terms) who may hire additional staff (with counsels receiving at least $180,000 annually under similar terms), all of whom must be licensed attorneys with at least 5 years of experience and of exceptional public standing; the office advises justices and their spouses on judicial ethics matters, including (1) financial disclosure requirements; (2) acceptance of gifts; (3) political activity; (4) conflicts of interest and recusal; and (5) unauthorized disclosure of official Court documents. The section further requires the office to provide biannual ethics training to each justice; directs the chief ethics counsel to submit annual reports to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees detailing ethics advice provided (e.g., number of requests by topic such as gifts or financial disclosures, recommended mitigation measures like recusal or divestiture, and instances of non-compliance if known); and defines "gift" (i.e., any gratuity, favor, or item of monetary value, including services, travel, lodging, and meals) and "political activity" (i.e., paid speaking events, fundraisers, donations, or endorsements). The section also makes a clerical amendment to the table of contents for chapter 45 of title 28, United States Code.

This section establishes an Office of Investigative Counsel within the Supreme Court of the United States, to be constituted by one Chief Investigative Counsel (appointed by the Chief Justice to a single 6-year term at an annual salary of at least $225,000) and at least two additional investigative counsels (appointed by the Chief Investigative Counsel at their pleasure and at an annual salary of at least $180,000), to review and investigate ethics complaints against justices arising from their actions or those of their spouses and dependents. All investigative counsels must be attorneys licensed in a state or territory with at least 7 years of practice, of exceptional public standing, and not employed by the Supreme Court on the date of enactment; the Chief Investigative Counsel may be removed only for cause. The office is authorized to issue subpoenas for testimony and documents nationwide, enforceable by U.S. district courts with contempt penalties. Ethics complaints may be filed only by the chair or ranking minority member of the House or Senate Judiciary Committee, the Senate Majority or Minority Leader, or the House Speaker or Minority Leader. The office must review each complaint within 60 days to determine if a full investigation is warranted (considering violations of the Supreme Court Code of Conduct, Judicial Code of Conduct, or applicable law), respond to the filer, and if appropriate open an investigation within 15 days. The office must report its findings and recommendations (including identified violations and actions such as recusal or divestment) to the Chief Justice or, if the Chief Justice is the subject, the most senior Associate Justice.

This section establishes a severability clause, providing that if any provision of the Act or its application to any person or circumstance is held unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act and its application to other persons or circumstances remains unaffected.