The release of a “Model Code of Conduct for U.S. Supreme Court Justices” by two good-government groups — Project for Government Oversight and Lawyers Defending Democracy — brings into sharp focus the growing effort to regulate the justices, a push that the Nine has thus far resisted.  

Unlike lower court judges, who are bound by the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, Supreme Court sages are free to consult those rules but are not bound by them. The sole rule that reaches them is the one on recusal, which ostensibly requires both judges and justices to sit out hearing cases involving “personal bias” or “fiduciary” interest.