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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →A Supreme Court justice should recuse when the law or the Court’s Code of Conduct requires disqualification—including when an unbiased, reasonable person aware of the relevant circumstances would doubt the justice could act fairly. The justice whose participation is questioned decides whether to step aside; the full Court does not vote on that justice’s recusal.
The standard: impartiality, with a duty to sit unless disqualified
The Supreme Court’s Code of Conduct for Justices, adopted November 13, 2023, sets out the governing approach in Canon 3. It says: “A Justice is presumed impartial and has an obligation to sit unless disqualified.” It also says a justice should disqualify when “an unbiased and reasonable person who is aware of all relevant circumstances would doubt that the Justice could fairly discharge his or her duties.”
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The Code applies the same general principles and statutory standards used for other federal judges, including 28 U.S.C. § 455, while addressing the Supreme Court’s particular institutional setting. The question is not simply whether someone has raised a concern or whether a connection exists in the abstract. It is whether the applicable legal ground—or the informed reasonable-person test—requires disqualification on the circumstances known to the justice.
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What kinds of circumstances can require recusal?
Canon 3B identifies examples within the broader reasonable-person standard. The list is not exhaustive, and some grounds depend on what the justice knows.
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- Bias or disputed facts: personal bias or prejudice concerning a party, or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts.
- Prior professional involvement: representing a party at an earlier stage, a former law partner having served as counsel during their association, or the justice or lawyer having been a material witness.
- Financial and fiduciary interests: a covered financial interest in the subject matter or a party, a fiduciary relationship, or another interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome.
- Family connections: certain close relatives’ roles as parties, officers, directors, trustees, attorneys, or material witnesses, or their relevant interests.
- Prior government or judicial work: participation in the case during prior government service, or an opinion on the merits of that particular case expressed during prior government or judicial service.
- Specified relative’s law-firm connection: a covered relative served as lead counsel below, or is an equity partner at a firm appearing for a party without written assurance that Supreme Court litigation income is permanently excluded from that relative’s compensation.
The Code directs each justice to stay informed about personal and fiduciary financial interests and to make reasonable efforts to stay informed about the personal financial interests of a spouse and minor children living in the household. That knowledge requirement matters: the rules do not turn every remote or unknown connection into an automatic recusal.
How financial interests are treated
The Code defines a financial interest as ownership of a legal or equitable interest, however small, or a relationship as a director, advisor, or other active participant in a party’s affairs. It also provides exceptions and limits, so neither “any investment means recusal” nor “only directly held stock counts” accurately states the rule.
- Owning shares in a mutual or common investment fund generally is not treated as a financial interest in securities held by that fund, unless the justice participates in managing it.
- The Code includes additional rules for certain nonprofit, mutual-insurance, savings-association, and government-security interests.
- Disqualification based on an interest in a party generally is not required after the justice or covered family member divests the interest, unless the interest could be substantially affected by the outcome.
The relevant provision is Canon 3B of the Court’s Code of Conduct for the Supreme Court of the United States. The result depends on the type of interest, the justice’s knowledge, any applicable exception, and the case’s potential effect on the interest.
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Who decides, and how is a recusal recorded?
The justice whose participation is at issue makes the recusal decision. The Code commentary describes the Court’s practice of referring a motion to that justice; the full Court does not decide the question for them. Justices evaluate party motions under the general principles and statutory standards applicable to other federal judges.
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The Court says recusals are noted in its decisions at both the petition-for-certiorari and merits stages. For example, the docket in Fields v. Trump, No. 23-6258, records that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson did not participate in consideration or decision of the certiorari petition on February 26, 2024, citing 28 U.S.C. § 455 and Canon 3B(2)(e), concerning prior judicial service. That docket entry states the basis for that nonparticipation; it does not establish how another justice would resolve different facts.
Why the Court’s institutional role matters
The Supreme Court has nine seats and no substitute justice to fill one when a member recuses. The Court’s Code commentary explains that losing a justice can affect the exchange of views, the votes needed for certiorari under the Court’s current practice, the risk of an evenly divided decision, and the Court’s ability to establish a uniform national rule.
In its November 13, 2023 commentary, the Court described receiving approximately 5,000 to 6,000 certiorari petitions a year and said roughly 97 percent may be and are denied at a preliminary stage without joint discussion among the justices. Those figures describe the petition volume and preliminary denial process—not argued cases or a recusal rate.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThe Code recognizes the rule of necessity: “The rule of necessity may override the rule of disqualification.” This is a narrow institutional principle, not blanket permission to ignore a conflict. The Code separately sets out disqualification standards, and the consequences of losing a justice inform their application without erasing those standards.
The Code also says that filing an amicus curiae brief, or participation by amicus counsel, does not itself require disqualification. An amicus connection should not be treated as an automatic conflict.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What changed in the Court’s conflict checks in 2026?
On February 17, 2026, the Court announced revised Rules supporting new software for automated recusal checks. The rules took effect March 16, 2026. The system compares information about parties and attorneys in a case with lists maintained by each justice’s chambers. The Court said its Office of Information Technology developed the software with the Legal Office and Clerk’s Office, and described the checks as supplemental to existing conflict-screening procedures.
The software is a screening aid, not an automated decision-maker: the Court’s announcement does not say that it determines whether a justice must recuse. For current procedural details, consult the Court’s February 17, 2026 announcement and current Rules.
How to assess a particular recusal question
A reported connection or a party’s motion alone does not establish that recusal is required. To understand a particular situation, separate the legal question from speculation about a justice’s motives:
- Identify the specific statutory or Code provision that may apply.
- Determine whether the provision turns on the justice’s actual knowledge, an informed reasonable-person assessment, or both.
- Examine the nature and closeness of the financial, family, professional, or prior-service connection.
- Check whether a Code definition, exception, or divestment rule changes the analysis.
- Consider the case stage and institutional consequences, while keeping those consequences distinct from the underlying disqualification ground.
The Code supplies the legal framework; the individual justice applies it to the circumstances of the case.
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