Majority of voters think justices Thomas and Alito should be impeached

The U.S. Supreme Court is facing a legitimacy crisis. Previous Data for Progress polling has found that voters are concerned by the power of unelected judges and think that the Supreme Court should follow an enforceable code of conduct. When asked about different approaches to a code of conduct, 73% of likely voters said that the Supreme Court should be required to follow the same ethical code as other federal judges, while only 17% of likely voters supported allowing the Supreme Court to create its own code of ethics.

Since then, the Supreme Court created its own code of ethics, yet, as the Brennan Center for Justice points out, there “is no mechanism to enforce the code — no arbiter to enforce, apply, or even interpret these rules.” As a result, there have been no consequences for Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, who have failed to disclose gifts and refused to recuse themselves from cases involving potential conflicts of interest. On July 10, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced articles of impeachment against Thomas and Alito for this conduct.

A new Data for Progress survey examines voters’ perceptions of the Supreme Court, the articles of impeachment against Thomas and Alito, and potential court reform. Most notably, it finds that a majority of voters, including Independents, believe that Justices Thomas and Alito should be impeached.

For Thomas, voters were presented with the following information:

Similarly, for Alito, voters were presented with the following information:

Lastly, voters were asked about two court reform proposals— term limits and gift bans.

The most popular of these proposals is the High Court Gift Ban Act, which would prohibit Supreme Court justices from receiving gifts valued at more than $50. More than three-quarters of voters (77%), including more than 70% of voters across party lines, support this legislation.

Similarly, 74% of voters, including majorities across party lines, support introducing term limits for Supreme Court justices so that they serve for a set period of time rather than for life.