Sec. 404. Improving disclosure

677 words·~3 min read·/bill/116/s/5070/is/section-404

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Section 103(h) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the following: Not later than 90 days after a report is filed under this title by an individual described in section 109(10), the Judicial Conference shall make publicly available online, at no cost, each report required under this title that is filed with the Judicial Conference in a format that is searchable, sortable, machine-readable, downloadable, and accessible in multiple languages and to individuals with disabilities. .

Section 455 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: Each justice, judge, and magistrate judge of the United States shall maintain and submit to the Judicial Conference a list of each association or interest that would require the justice, judge, or magistrate to be recused under subsection (b)(4). The Judicial Conference shall maintain and make publicly available online, at no cost, each list required under this subsection that is filed with the Judicial Conference in a format that is searchable, sortable, machine-readable, downloadable, and accessible format, and accessible in multiple languages and to individuals with disabilities.

The Judicial Conference may issue public or private guidance to justices, judges, and magistrate judges of the United States regarding the contents of the lists under this subsection to ensure such lists comply with the disqualification requirements of (b)(4). . Each justice, judge, and magistrate judge of the United States shall maintain and submit to the Judicial Conference of the United States a copy of each speech or other significant oral communication made by the justice, judge, or magistrate.

The Judicial Conference of the United States shall maintain and make each speech or other significant oral communication submitted under paragraph

(1)available to the public in printed form, upon request, and online, at no cost, in a format that is searchable, sortable, machine-readable, downloadable, and accessible in multiple languages and to individuals with disabilities. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Judicial Conference of the United States shall promulgate regulations regarding the types of oral communications that are required to be maintained, submitted, and made publicly available under this subsection. In this section, the term appellate court of the United States means any United States circuit court of appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States. In accordance with procedures established by the Judicial Conference of the United States, the audio of each open session conducted by an appellate court of the United States shall be made available online contemporaneously with the session, unless the appellate court of the United States, by a majority vote, determines that making audio of the session available online would violate the constitutional rights or threaten the safety of any party to the proceeding. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Judicial Conference of the United States shall promulgate regulations requiring each court of the United States to make case assignment data available to the public online, at no cost, in a searchable, sortable, machine-readable, downloadable, and accessible in multiple languages and to individuals with disabilities. The case assignment data made available under paragraph

(1)shall include, at a minimum, and to the extent available, the case title, docket number, case origin, filing date, and name of each authoring judge, concurring judge, and dissenting judge for each opinion issued in the case. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Judicial Conference of the United States shall promulgate regulations requiring an evaluation of, and improvements to, the website of each district court of the United States to ensure the website is easy to understand, including that it is clear how to file a complaint relating to a judge or an employee of the district court. The Judicial Conference shall make efforts to ensure that the any disclosures required under this section are made available to the public in plain language, in a variety of languages, and accessible to individuals with disabilities.