Establishment of the Office of Investigative Counsel within the Supreme Court of the United States

(a) In general Chapter 45 of title 28, United States Code, as amended by section 502, is further amended by adding at the end the following: 679. Office of Investigative Counsel (a) Office of investigative counsel The Chief Justice is authorized to establish an Office of Investigative Counsel within the Supreme Court of the United States— (1) constituted by one Chief Investigative Counsel and at least two additional investigative counsels; and (2) to review and investigate ethics complaints against justices arising from their actions or the actions of their spouses and dependents. (b) Investigative counsels (1) Staffing and compensation of counsels (A) Chief investigative counsel The Chief Investigative Counsel— (i) may not be employed by the court on the date of enactment of this section; (ii) shall be appointed by the Chief Justice; (iii) shall serve not more than one 6-year term; and (iv) shall receive an annual rate of pay of at least $225,000. (B) Additional investigative counsels The investigative counsels— (i) may not be employed by the court on the date of enactment of this section; (ii) shall be appointed by the Chief Investigative Counsel; (iii) shall serve at the pleasure of the Chief Investigative Counsel; and (iv) shall receive an annual rate of pay of at least $180,000. (C) Qualifications Each investigative counsel of the Office of Investigative Counsel shall— (i) be licensed to practice law in a State or territory of the United States and a member of the bar in good standing; and (ii) possess at least 7 years of experience as a practicing attorney. (D) Expertise Each investigative counsel and the Chief Investigative Counsel shall be an individual of exceptional public standing who is specifically qualified to serve within the Office of Investigative Counsel by virtue of the individual’s education, training, and experience. (E) Termination of counsels The employment of the Chief Investigative Counsel may only be terminated by the Chief Justice for cause. (2) Subpoena power (A) In general For the discharge of their duties, the Chief Investigative Counsel shall have the authority to issue subpoenas to compel witnesses to appear and testify and to produce books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, documents, or other relevant records. The Chief Investigative Counsel may issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of any evidence relating to any matter under investigation by the Office of Investigative Counsel, which the Office is empowered to investigate by this section. The attendance of witnesses and the production of evidence may be required from any place within the United States at any designated place of hearing within the United States. (B) Failure to obey a subpoena If a person refuses to obey a subpoena issued under subparagraph (A), the Chief Investigative Counsel may apply to a United States district court for an order requiring that person to appear before the Office of Investigative Counsel to give testimony, produce evidence, or both, relating to the matter under investigation. The application may be made within the judicial district where the hearing is conducted or where that person is found, resides, or transacts business. Any failure to obey the order of the court shall be punishable by contempt of court. (C) Service of subpoenas The subpoenas of the Office of Investigative Counsel shall be served in the manner provided for subpoenas issued by a United States district court under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for the United States district courts. (D) Service of process All process of any court to which application is made under subparagraph (B) may be served in the judicial district in which the person required to be served resides or may be found. (c) Ethics complaints (1) Filing An ethics complaint against a justice may be filed with the Office of Investigative Counsel by— (A) the chair or ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives or of the Senate; (B) the Majority Leader or Minority Leader of the Senate; or (C) the Speaker or the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. (2) Review Not later than 60 days after an ethics complaint is filed under paragraph (1), the Office of Investigative Counsel shall review the complaint and determine whether a full investigation is appropriate. In making a determination under this paragraph, the Office shall consider whether the alleged behavior of a justice violates the Code of Conduct of the Supreme Court, the Judicial Code of Conduct, or any applicable law or regulation. Upon making a determination under this paragraph, the chief counsel shall respond to each ethics complaint filed under paragraph (1), regardless of whether the Office of Investigative Counsel determines that an investigation is appropriate. (3) Investigation If the Office determines that a full investigation is appropriate, it shall open the investigation not later than 15 days after making such determination. (4) Reporting (A) In general The Office of Investigative Counsel shall submit to the Chief Justice a report containing its findings and recommendations about an ethics complaint filed under paragraph (2) (including in the case of a complaint with respect to which the Office determines that no violation has occurred), except that in the case of an ethics complaint with respect to which the Chief Justice is the subject, the Office shall deliver such report to the most senior associate justice. (B) Contents A report under subparagraph (A) shall include— (i) each violation of the Code of Conduct for the Supreme Court committed by the justice who was the subject of the investigation under paragraph (3), including any such violation that arose as a result of the actions of a spouse or dependent of the justice; and (ii) substantive and actionable recommendations from the Office of Investigative Counsel including recusal, divestment and neutralization conflicts of interest, and other remedies. (C) Publication (i) Chief Justice The Chief Justice may, in his sole discretion, release to the public a report received under subparagraph (A), but may not alter such a report in any way, except to redact any classified or personally identifiable information. In the case of an ethics complaint with respect to which the Chief Justice is the subject, the most senior associate justice is authorized to carry out this clause. (ii) Availability to Congress Not later than 10 days after completing a report under subparagraph (A), the Office of Investigative Counsel shall make the report available to— (I) the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of the Senate; (II) the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives; and (III) the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate. (iii) Duty to inform the Attorney General In carrying out the duties of the Office, the Investigative Counsel shall report expeditiously to the Attorney General whenever the Investigative Counsel has reasonable grounds to believe there has been a violation of Federal criminal law.. (b) Clerical amendment The table of contents of chapter 45 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 678, as added by section 2, the following: 679. Office of Investigative Counsel..