Chief Justice John Roberts Pledges to Bolster Judicial Ethics

 

Findings that federal judges with financial conflicts improperly ruled in hundreds of cases

Chief Justice John Roberts pledged Friday to improve ethics training and bolster internal compliance systems for the federal judiciary, citing a Wall Street Journal investigation that found hundreds of instances where judges presided over cases involving companies in which they or their relatives held stock.

“Let me be crystal clear: the Judiciary takes this matter seriously. We expect judges to adhere to the highest standards, and those judges violated an ethics rule,” the chief justice said in his year-end report, which traditionally is published on Dec. 31 and includes statistics regarding the federal courts’ caseload.

In addition to presiding over the Supreme Court, the chief justice heads the entire federal judicial system, overseeing it through such bodies as the Judicial Conference, which is the judges’ policy-making arm, and the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts.

The federal judiciary historically has resisted proposals that would extend to judges the disclosure requirements that apply to lawmakers and executive-branch appointees. It has also opposed bills aiming to increase public access to judicial proceedings, such as providing free access to the online Pacer system where federal court filings and decisions are docketed.

Six people injured in shooting at supermarket in South LA

 Six people were injured after two men shot into a Superior Grocers market in south Los Angeles on Friday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Just before 4 p.m., two men drove to the front entrance to the market on 102nd Street and Avalon Boulevard in Green Meadows, got out of their vehicle and shot into the store. The shooters fled the scene and were only described as two men about 25 years old, LAPD officer Kyle McInnis said.

Three men and three women were injured, and four of them were taken to a nearby hospital by the Los Angeles Fire Department; the other two refused transportation, LAFD spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said. Two of the hospitalized victims were in critical condition and two were in serious condition, she said.

A store employee, who did not disclose his name, said there was an altercation prior to the shooting, but he did not elaborate on who was involved. The LAPD did not identify a motive for the shooting or say if any of the victims were store employees.

There was no further information Friday night.