Although justices are not above the law, they have exempted themselves from the code of conduct that applies to all other federal judges. When lower-court judges face a motion to step aside owing to a possible conflict of interest, other judges settle the question. Justices on the Supreme Court, however, get to decide questions about their own impartiality by themselves, sometimes arriving at dubious conclusions. I have heard a few Senators suggest that if Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed that he should recuse himself in any decisions regarding women's rights. Obviously that would never happen because it's not a requirement that they do.
If you recall, in 2004, Judge Antonin Scalia declined to recuse himself from a case involving Vice President Dick Cheney and the energy industry, shortly after Cheney and Scalia had gone on a duck hunting trip together to a private camp owned by an oil industry executive. (Scalia voted in favor of Cheney.) Right or wrong, the fact that Scalia made the decision himself did nothing to bolster public confidence in the court’s impartiality.
The Supreme Court has a tendency toward opacity, shunning calls for more openness about its workings, including a refusal to allow cameras into its courthouse. The public deserves a court that is more transparent and accountable.
