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1 1 (May 9, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/goveloc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: *Congressional ______ ~ ~Research Servi e Enlisting Assistance or Intruding On Judicial Independence? Compelling Testimony by Supreme Court Justices May 9, 2023 In conjunction with growing public and congressional interest in how the Supreme Court approaches ethical issues, the Senate Judiciary Committee recently invited Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. or another Justice of his designation to testify at a hearing examining the ethical rules that govern the Justices of the Supreme Court and potential reforms to those rules. Chief Justice Roberts, noting that testimony before Congress by the Chief Justice on matters other than appropriations and nominations is exceedingly rare, declined that invitation and instead provided the Committee with a Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices that currently guides all members of the Court. The committee chair, Senator Dick Durbin, responded by asking for additional information on the Court's current ethics guidelines, while affirming that the committee would proceed with its hearing on May 2 without the Supreme Court's input as Supreme Court ethics reform must happen whether the Court participates in the process or not. In a typical oversight scenario, if a witness refuses a congressional committee's request for testimony, the committee may consider the use of a subpoena to compel their attendance. A committee request for testimony from the sitting Chief Justice of the United States is not, however, a typical scenario. Nevertheless, the Chief Justice's response to the Judiciary Committee's invitation-in which he alluded to separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence-raises the question of whether Congress has authority to issue a subpoena to a Supreme Court Justice for information relating to the functioning of the Court. This Sidebar addresses that question by briefly outlining potentially applicable legal principles, including the constitutional separation of powers. Governing Legal Principles Federal judges are not prohibited from providing testimony to Congress. Judges may-and often do- choose to comply with congressional requests for information. Indeed, hundreds of judges, including Supreme Court Justices, have testified before Congress on issues such as judicial appropriations and compensation and the role of federal judges. Those appearances, however, have been voluntary. Neither Congress nor the courts have definitively addressed whether a committee, in the absence of voluntary Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10962 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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