The Supreme Court announced on Monday its adoption of a Code of Conduct setting out the ethics rules and principles that guide the justices. In a statement accompanying the rules, the Court stated that for the most part, the provisions were not new as the Court historically has been governed by “common law ethics rules” derived from a variety of sources. The Court stated that it was adopting the Code to “dispel” the “misunderstanding” that justices regard themselves as unrestricted by ethics rules. Adoption of the ethics rules did not quell the criticism related to recent reports of gifts and benefits bestowed on some justices and critics were quick to point out that the new code lacks an enforcement mechanism. Nominee for the Fourth Circuit. CBS News reports that President Biden on Wednesday announced five nominees to federal judgeships, including Nicole Berner, the general counsel of the Service Employees International Union, for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. If confirmed, Berner would be that court’s first openly LGBTQ judge. An Epidemic of Everything. The New York Times reported here about a “new and perilous period” in the United States’ battle against illicit drugs and addiction. Opioids, such as fentanyl, remain a problem, but are only part of the sad story of addiction. The Centers for Disease Control say that most of the people addicted to opioids also take other illicit substances, which complicates treatment and confounds policy choices. Among those substances are the animal tranquilizer xylazine, which reportedly [...]
Faculty Coordinators
