The first legal code of ethics was drafted by the American Bar Association in 1908 and since then these rules are regularly updated and edited. The role of ethics in the legal system impacts the citizenry greatly because of influence the legal system has on society as a whole. Because of this important role Society has an expectation of legal professionals adhering to a stricter set of ethical norms. There are also set guidelines of professional responsibility that you agree to uphold when you get admitted to practice. These are set by the individual states but are based on the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct. These Model Rules of Professional Conduct include guidelines and principles on general practice, fiduciary responsibilities, conflicts of interest, client confidentiality, and commingling. If these guidelines are not followed there are consequences.
On Monday, November 13, the Supreme Court announced that they are adopting a code of conduct. The creation of the code of conduct is in response to the reports of Justices engaging in unethical practices. Previously there was no ethics code that the life-tenured justices had to follow. The Supreme Court said that these principles are not new, but that they wanted to “gather in one place the ethics rules and principles that guide the conduct of the members of the court.”
In the Collection
Opinions of the Committee on Professional Ethics and Grievances : with the Canons of professional ethics, annotated, and Canons of judicial ethics, annotated
Nine black robes: inside the Supreme Court's drive to the right and its historic consequences
The Supreme Court
A history of the Supreme Court
The Constitution in conflict
Legal ethics: rules, statutes and comparisons
The case against the Supreme Court
A legislative history: the development of the ABA model rules of professional conduct, 1982-2013
A century of legal ethics: trial lawyers and the ABA Canons of Professional Ethics
Inside the Supreme Court: the institution and its procedures
Annotated model code of judicial conduct
Judicial conduct and ethics