By Dan Levine

(Reuters) – The U.S. Congress has approved a series of rules to improve the Federal Judiciary. These include a system to eliminate judges from hearing cases in instances of conflict of interests and one that reduces secret court filings.

It was introduced by both the Senate and House of Representatives. Jerrold Nadler, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and Richard Blumenthal (Senate Judiciary Committee), are among its sponsors.

This bill is being introduced at a time when U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was asked by some Democrats not to be involved in any case relating to the attack on the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021 by ex-President Donald Trump’s supporters. They cited the activities of Virginia Thomas, a conservative activist.

Current practice dictates that each of the Supreme Court justices decides whether or not to withdraw from any case due to a conflict. The proposed legislation would require the Supreme Court to consider recusal requests.

Also, the proposed legislation requires federal judges announce compelling reasons for sealing any documents. It also stipulates that confidentiality should not last longer than it is absolutely necessary. It would require that all parties request records be sealed in cases. Additionally, the bill would make it mandatory for judges to notify anyone outside of the case about what to do to stop a secrecy move.

Reuters published in a series entitled “Hidden Injustice”, a 2019 series that revealed how U.S. courts routinely permit makers of consumer goods to file under seal any information relevant to safety and public health. (See Hidden Injustice series https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-courts-secrecy)

Reuters’ investigation revealed that hundreds of thousands of Americans died or were seriously hurt by supposedly defective products. This includes drugs, automobiles and medical devices. But evidence that might have alerted regulators and consumers to the danger remained buried.

Reuters revealed that although they are often required by federal judges to give reasons for sealing records in certain regional courts, this is not the case in defective product cases.

The legislation also requires the Supreme Court’s live streaming of oral arguments. It will be required to follow ethical guidelines for judges and provide video. While the Supreme Court doesn’t allow live video to be shown during oral arguments, they began permitting audio from the start of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 and have continued this practice.

This legislation is the most recent that some Democrats are pursuing to make reforms in the federal judiciary.

The White House and the top congressional Democrats did not respond to legislation that was unveiled last year. It would have allowed the Supreme Court to expand to 13 justices, which is a move to remove its conservative majority. Republicans condemned it.