What Companies Can Learn From The Supreme Court’s First Code Of Ethics

Business leaders can’t prevent their companies and organizations from having a crisis that is caused by employees. But they can take steps to lessen the chances by establishing, promoting, and enforcing standards for the conduct and ethics of their workers. The documents can also be useful in addressing crisis situations.

An analysis by ethics experts of the US Supreme Court’s first code of ethics that was announced earlier this month provides key insights for corporate boards of directors and other business leaders to consider when preparing or reviewing their own organization’s code of ethics. a

Best Practices

A code of ethics “is a reflection of the priorities, risks and values of leadership,” Patricia Harned, CEO of Ethics & Compliance Initiative, said via email.

She noted that a good code:

• “Is a clear communication of an organization’s overall commitment to doing what is right in all its operations.”
• “Outlines things that all members of the organization should not do.”
• “Helps employees understand what right conduct looks like (or what they should do).”
• “Contains clear information about how to report suspected wrongdoing,
• “Is compiled by taking into account the values, risks, standards and intended impact of an organization.

Falling Short

The Supreme Court’s new code appears to fall short in important ways, according to ethics and leadership experts and observers.

‘A Dismissive Attitude’

“In essence, the court opens by making the claim that the recent spate of scandals which have made the public question the integrity of the court were not actually scandals at all. If that is the case, then the court must necessarily believe they were already operating within the parameters of what the following code would allow, making it superfluous in their eyes,” Nicholas Creel, an assistant professor of business law and ethics at Georgia College and State University, observed via email.

“Beginning the code with such a dismissive attitude no way makes it seem like the code itself will actually change the way they operate,” he commented.

‘No Real Consequences’

“Overall, this document is best described as vague and modestly proscriptive, with seemingly no real consequences for noncompliance. As such, it is hard to imagine how this code would actually make the court any more ethical,” Creel said.

Redundant

The Court’s new code is “a muddle of law, compliance, and ethics. To say that ‘a justice should respect and comply with the law’ is redundant, imprecise, and belittling. It’s not unethical to break the law; it’s illegal,” Rabbi Yonason Goldson, author of Grappling With Gray: An Ethical Handbook for Personal Success and Business Prosperity, said via email.

No Oversight

“The Supreme Court, while being the highest court in the land, has virtually no oversight itself. The code of ethics is an attempt to govern the Court. However, it’s still being left up to the judges on the panel to enforce the code, so it leads one to wonder how effective it will be,” Ben Michael, an attorney with Michael & Associates, said in an email message.

Going Forward

“My hope is that when ethics issues arise, the Court will consider those issues as an institution in light of the Code (instead of leaving recusal decisions entirely to individual justices, as has largely been the practice in the past). If the Court does so, then I think the Code will be an effective tool,” Cassandra Burke Robertson, a law professor and director of the Center for Professional Ethics at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law, predicted via email.