[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1244 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1244
Censuring Associate Justice Samuel Alito, Jr., for knowingly violating
the Federal recusal statute and binding ethics standards.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 21, 2024
Mr. Cohen (for himself, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Balint, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms.
Tlaib, Ms. Norton, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania, and Mr.
Espaillat) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Censuring Associate Justice Samuel Alito, Jr., for knowingly violating
the Federal recusal statute and binding ethics standards.
Whereas the Constitution establishes three coequal branches of government--
legislative, executive, and judicial--each with its own powers and
responsibilities;
Whereas every person who appears before a United States court should have
confidence that his or her case will be heard fairly and judged solely
on the facts before the court and a thorough and thoughtful application
of law;
Whereas the words ``Equal Justice Under Law'' are carved above the entrance of
the Supreme Court, declaring the core value of the Federal judiciary;
Whereas judicial impartiality is foundational to our system of justice and
essential to uphold the Constitution's guarantee of due process and
equal protection of the laws;
Whereas judicial independence and impartiality is essential to the fair
administration of justice and the legitimacy of the courts;
Whereas Congress has established binding ethics requirements and standards for
the Federal judiciary;
Whereas the Federal recusal statute, section 455 of title 28, United States
Code, requires a justice ``[to]...disqualify himself in any proceeding
in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned'' or ``where he
has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party'';
Whereas, on November 13, 2023, the Supreme Court, with all nine Justices acting
unanimously, promulgated a Code of Conduct for the Justices of the
Supreme Court of the United States;
Whereas the preface to the Code includes the statement: ``For the most part
these rules and principles are not new: The Court has long had the
equivalent of common law ethics rules, that is, a body of rules derived
from a variety of sources, including statutory provisions, the code that
applies to other members of the Federal judiciary, ethics advisory
opinions issued by the Judicial Conference Committee on Codes of
Conduct, and historic practice'';
Whereas the Code preface also suggests that the code was promulgated to
``dispel'' ``the misunderstanding that the Justices of this Court,
unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as
unrestricted by any ethics rules this misunderstanding'';
Whereas Canon 2(A) of the Code provides that a ``Justice should respect and
comply with the law and act at all times in a manner that promotes
public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary'';
Whereas Canon 3(B) of the Code incorporates the Federal recusal statute,
providing that ``a Justice should disqualify himself or herself in a
proceeding in which the Justice's impartiality might reasonably be
questioned, that is, where an unbiased and reasonable person who is
aware of all relevant circumstances would doubt that the Justice could
fairly discharge his or her duties'';
Whereas Canon 5 of the Code provides that a Justice should not ``publicly
endorse or oppose a candidate for public office'' or ``engage in other
political activity'';
Whereas, on May 16, 2024, the New York Times published a photograph taken on
January 17, 2021, of an American flag being flown upside-down in front
of the residence of Associate Justice Samuel Alito, Jr.;
Whereas the upside-down flag is a widely understood symbol of the so-called
``Stop the Steal'' effort which falsely and without evidence espoused
that the 2020 Presidential election was stolen and that former President
Donald J. Trump, not President Joe Biden, was actually elected as
President of the United States;
Whereas, on January 6, 2021, just a few days before the upside-down American
flag flew in front of Justice Alito's home, rioters who similarly
carried the American flag upside-down stormed the United States Capitol
in a violent effort to prevent Congress from certifying the results of
the 2020 election;
Whereas the United States Flag Code, codified in section 8 of title 4 of the
United States Code, provides, ``No disrespect should be shown to the
flag of the United States of America;...(a) The flag should never be
displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in
instances of extreme danger to life or property'';
Whereas by flying the flag upside-down in front of his residence during the
period between the certification of the election and the inauguration in
2021, at a time when former President Trump and his political allies
were actively disputing the validity of the election results, there was
a reasonable perception that Justice Alito was supporting former
President Trump's efforts to overturn the election results or signaling
that President Biden's election posed ``extreme danger to life or
property'';
Whereas, despite acting in a matter that creates a public perception of bias,
Justice Alito continued to hear and participate in cases directly
related to the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, insurrection; and
Whereas Justice Alito's actions violate the principles of judicial independence,
impartial administration of justice, and the rule of law: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) censures Associate Justice Samuel Alito, Jr., for
knowingly violating the Federal recusal statute and binding
ethics standards and calling the impartiality of the Supreme
Court of the United States into question by continuing to
participate in cases in which his prior public conduct could be
reasonably interpreted to demonstrate bias; and
(2) demands Associate Justice Samuel Alito, Jr., recuse
himself from all litigation related to the 2020 election or the
insurrection on January 6, 2021.
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