But she also said the justices already agree they should hold themselves to the highest ethical standards possible.
“I think that’s something that I can’t really speak for the court about or make any sort of guess,” she said.
Barrett spoke as part of a lecture series named for Stein that has also brought to the university Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Antonin Scalia, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Chief Justice John Roberts. But security in and around the auditorium was notably tighter than for the other justices, following calls by activist groups to protest against Barrett’s appearance.
I still believe a good solution is that the supreme court should be split by the % party control in congress. No one is completely impartial so the judges would also need to disclose what party they fall under. And as majority shifts the judges with the most time there would be rotated out.
I don’t really think this solution is perfect, but I think it’s better than what we have.
Many of the judges wind up evolving in ways you wouldn’t entirely expect. Gorsuch and Roberts, for instance, wound up ruling that sexual orientation and gender identity are protected under the Civil Rights act.