Roberts and Thomas refuse Senate invitations to testify on Supreme Court ethics

Chief Justice John Roberts has declined an invitation to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the Supreme Court’s ethical standards, citing separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence. Roberts noted that a sitting chief justice has testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on only two occasions in the past 102 years. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin invited Roberts to testify at a May 2 hearing on Supreme Court ethics reform, but Roberts declined and offered to send another justice in his place.