Overview
- The court will run software-based checks that match parties and attorneys in each case against lists maintained by every justice’s chambers to flag potential conflicts.
- The system was developed in-house by the Court’s Office of Information Technology with the Legal and Clerk’s Offices, and it supplements existing chamber reviews.
- New filing rules taking effect March 16 require comprehensive party listings, disclosure of relevant corporate parents or major owners, and stock ticker symbols to feed the screening tool.
- Justices retain sole authority to decide whether to recuse, reflecting the court’s continued reliance on self-policing rather than external enforcement.
- The changes follow heightened scrutiny after Justice Samuel Alito’s late recusal in an oil-industry case, and watchdogs note only Chief Justice John Roberts and Alito currently hold individual stocks.