Barrett: My Time on the Bench Has Had 'Its Ups and Downs'

As headlines continue to emerge about various Supreme Court justices, talk of implementing an ethics code for the nation's highest court has emerged, including from some of the justices themselves. Now, Justice Amy Coney Barrett is weighing in, and she appears to be a proponent of such oversight. "It would be a good idea for us to do it, particularly so that we can communicate to the public exactly what it is that we are doing in a clearer way," Barrett told a crowd gathered Monday for a University of Minnesota Law School event, reports the New York Times.

Barrett added that "there is no lack of consensus among the [nine] justices ... that we should and do hold ourselves to the ... highest ethical standards possible," per the AP. Axios notes that the Supreme Court is the only court in the federal judiciary system that hasn't adopted an ethics code. So far, Justice Elena Kagan has said she supports such a protocol for herself and her colleagues, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh has similarly noted that he hopes "concrete steps" will be taken soon. Chief Justice John Roberts, meanwhile, said earlier this year that he's "committed to making certain that we as a court adhere to the highest standards of conduct."

Barrett also spoke in general Monday about her time on the bench so far, admitting that "it has its ups and downs," per the Times. "Enjoying myself isn't quite the right word that I would use," she said. "But it's a privilege to serve, and I have no regrets about undertaking the service." She added that some of the decisions she's made haven't been easy, including rulings involving the death penalty and disability benefits for service members: "It's your head, not your heart that has to make the decisions, but you should never lose sight of the fact that your decisions affect real people, and you should never lose your heart." The paper notes that demonstrators angry with Barrett's vote to overturn Roe v. Wade interrupted part of her speech, with one protester holding up a sign that read "Abort the court." (More Amy Coney Barrett stories.)