In his end-of-the-year report on the federal judiciary, Roberts insists that the justices abide by the Code of Judicial Conduct, which requires judges to be impartial, even though it doesn't formally apply to the Supreme Court. He notes that the justices also make financial disclosures required by the Ethics in Government Act, although the court has never ruled on the constitutionality of the law. And he says that "I have complete confidence in the capability of my colleagues to determine whether recusal is warranted."

That confidence, however, is not universally shared.