Justice Stephen Breyer defends U.S. Supreme Court recusal process

By Kimberly Atkins Dolan Media Newswires BOSTON, MA--A week after Chief Justice John G. Roberts defended Supreme Court justices' process for deciding whether or not to recuse themselves from cases that pose a potential ethical conflict, Justice Stephen Breyer also weighed in on the debate in defense of the Court's practice. ''There's a code of ethics. It's 24 volumes. It's in my office. It's up in the library. Before I have any case that involves ethics I go read it and see what's there,'' Breyer said Saturday at a Washington legal conference, according to the Associated Press. As the challenge to the federal health care law is set to be heard by the Court in March, some critics have called on Justices Clarence Thomas and Elena Kagan to recuse themselves from considering the case, and urged ethics rules to be revised binding the Supreme Court to the same recusal standards that other federal judges must follow. Roberts, in his annual report on the judiciary, argued that the Court's justices do consult the Judicial Code as well as other standards in deciding whether or not to recuse. Breyer echoed Roberts' sentiments. ''We are bound. We're acting as if we're bound,'' Breyer said. Also like Roberts, Breyer noted a key difference between Supreme Court justices and other federal judges: when lower court judges recuse, they are replaced. When a Supreme Court justice sits out a case, there is no replacement, and the decision can make a difference in the outcome of a case. ''That means I have to take with absolute seriousness the obligation to sit as well as the obligation not to sit,'' Breyer said. Entire contents copyrighted © 2012 by The Dolan Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is expressly forbidden. Published: Mon, Jan 30, 2012