Supreme court justices testify to House on budget request to increase security
Summary
Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett testified before a House committee about security needs and the court’s budget request. They spoke about increased threats, the need for more security personnel, and concerns about transparency and ethics in the court.Key Facts
- Each Supreme Court justice currently has between four and eight security officers assigned to them.
- Security increases during times of higher threat, such as after the leak of the Dobbs decision in 2022.
- Justice Barrett shared that she carried a bulletproof vest at home and experienced a swatting incident at her residence.
- House lawmakers say rising threats and violent rhetoric make better security funding necessary for judges and court staff.
- Lawmakers also demand more financial disclosure and a stronger ethics code for the Supreme Court, citing Justice Clarence Thomas’s unreported gifts and travel.
- The court implemented a voluntary ethics code in 2023, but some lawmakers consider it insufficient.
- Justices Kagan and Barrett said they still do not know who leaked the Dobbs decision, which overturned abortion rights.
- Lawmakers emphasized protecting judicial independence and adequate funding for public defenders.
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