Recent investigations share findings that over 130 US Federal judges presided over cases in which they had a financial conflict of interest since 2010. In a 422-4 vote this week, the House passed a bipartisan bill that would require US federal judges to share their financial disclosure reports publicly.
Under this bill designed, which is modelled on the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (the “STOCK Act”), which makes insider trading for members of Congress illegal, US Federal judges must now:
- disclose stock trades worth over $1,000 within 45 days; and
- publish securities transactions reports online within 90 days of filing.
The bill also requires the creation of an online database containing information (without redactions) related to US Federal judges’ financial disclosures. The database must be available for download, complete with sorting and searching capabilities. It is unclear whether the legislation will be enacted.