STAND. COM. REP. NO.
Honolulu, Hawaii
APR17 , 2023
RE: S.C.R. No. 204
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty—Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2023
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was
referred S.C.R. No. 204 entitled:
“SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION STRONGLY URGING THE SUPREME
COURT OF THE UNITED STATES TO ADOPT A FORMAL ETHICS CODE FOR
THE JUSTICES,”
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to strongly urge the Supreme
Court of the United States to adopt a formal ethics code for ‘the
Justices.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure
from two individuals.
Your Committee finds that in Caperton v. A. T. Massey Coal
Co., 556 U.S. 868 (2009), Justice Kennedy, writing for the court,
stated that, “[judicial] codes of conduct serve to maintain the
integrity of the judiciary and the rule of law”. The code of
conduct for United States judges is a set of ethical principles
and guidelines adopted by the Judicial Conference of the United
States and includes specific rules about ethics, integrity, and
appearances of impropriety relating to outside business and
political activities and the acceptance of gifts. The Judicial
Conference, which promulgated the code of conduct, does not have
the authority to bind the Supreme Court of the United States.
Therefore, the nine justices of the Supreme Court of the United
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 STAND. CON.
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REP. NO. S
States are not bound by any code of conduct. This measure urges
the Supreme Court of the United States to adopt a code of conduct,
which will promote openness, transparency, and trust in the
judicial system.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this
report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of
S.C.R. No. 204 and recommends its adoption.
Respectfully submitted on
behalf of the members of the
Committee on Judiciary &
Hawaiian Affairs,
DA~~hair f
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 State of Hawaii
House of Representatives
The Thirty-second Legislature
k~CR’L’LlS
Record of Votes of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs
Bill/Resolution No.: Committee Referral: Date:
SC~2~ lOt-k ~5W~ H I1’~J~0?~~
D The committee is reconsidering its previous decision on the measure.
The recommendation is to: Pass, unamended (as is) C Pass, with amendments (HD) C Hold
Pass short form bill with RD to recommit for future public hearing (recommit)
JHA Members Ayes Ayes (WR) Nays Excused
1. TARNAS, David A. (C)
2. TAKAYAMA, Gregg (VC)
3. GANADEN, Sonny
4. HOLT, Daniel
5. HASHIMOTO, Troy N.
6. ICHIYAMA, Linda V
7. ILAGAN, Greggor
8. KONG, Sam Satoru
9. MIZUNO, John M. V
10. SOUZA, Kanani
TOTAL (10) 3
The recommendation is: Adopted ~ Not Adopted
If joint referral, did not support recommendation.
committee acronym(s)
Vice Chair’s or designee’s signature:
Distribution: Original (White) Committee
— Duplicate (Yellow) — Chief Clerks Office Duplicate (Pink) — FDvISO