美国最高法院大法官埃琳娜·卡根和艾米·科尼·巴雷特(Amy Coney Barrett)周二罕见地出现在国会面前，向国会议员推销最高法院新的安全增强措施，尽管他们对他们的透明度和道德做法提出了批评。
听证会标志着自2019年以来最高法院成员首次在国会山作证，正值大法官寻求支持更大的预算-2.28亿美元，比去年增长10%-以适应更多的安全措施。
增加的资金几乎将全部用于加强对法官的个人保护，尽管法院也要求拨款支持更多的建筑官员、场外安全办公室和新的网络安全雇员。
周二，议员们似乎在很大程度上同情大法官，他们列举了近年来威胁环境的加剧，以及这给他们的日常生活带来的个人损失。最高法院警方报告称，对法官的威胁去年增加了38%，前年增加了25%。
在听证会最私人的时刻，Barrett法官分享说，在法院泄露推翻罗诉韦德案的意见时，她带了一件防弹背心回家——这是一项预防措施，她努力向她12岁的儿子解释。
“我没想到执行这项服务会让我向我的孩子解释防弹背心是什么以及为什么我必须穿防弹背心，”巴雷特说，称威胁环境“非常高”
巴雷特还证实了新闻报道，即她是六周前一次殴打事件的目标，称她十几岁的儿子为成群的执法人员打开了大门。拍打包括关于假枪击和其他紧急情况的恶作剧电话。
近年来，其他大法官也面临着安全问题，最引人注目的是，在多布斯的意见被泄露后的几周内，阿曼于2022年前往大法官布雷特·卡瓦诺的家，试图暗杀他。
法官们周二作证说，目前每个成员都有四到八名代理人，他们说这个数字会根据法官的日程和他们受到的审查而波动。
最高法院要求的2027年预算将显著扩大安全部队。大法官们正在寻求1460万美元，为每位大法官增加6名代理人(总共54名新官员)提供资金，并聘请25名官员专门负责最高法院大楼的工作。
法官们周二辩称，目前的人员配置不足。巴雷特说，这有耗尽精力和精疲力竭的风险，并指出同样的细节经常让她在晚上11点入睡，然后必须在第二天早上再次到达。
法院还要求拨款650万美元，资助一项“外部游客检查设施设计”这笔钱将用于为进入法院的人提供校外安全程序的蓝图和早期规划。
卡根简要谈到了这一提议，称法官们担心访客在接受检查之前就进入大楼。目前，公众成员在大楼梯下的大厅区域内通过磁力计和x光机。
法官们还被问及更多非常规威胁，包括无人机和网络战。
巴雷特承认，“无人机缓解措施肯定在安全的雷达上。”她还表示，网络安全攻击正在“逐年增加”最高法院要求拨款230万美元资助网络安全相关的雇佣，这是保护其数据和支持技术基础设施的一年计划的一部分。
尽管立法者周二基本上回避了热点政策问题，但民主党人就透明度相关的问题向法官施压，他们说这些问题削弱了对法院的信任。
立法者似乎对法院大量使用所谓的“影子备审表”——也被称为“紧急备审表”——以更快地就紧急请求做出决定感到最失望，而没有充分的简报或口头辩论。
值得注意的是，长期公开批评这种做法的卡根周二为这种做法进行了辩护。她说，称之为“影子”不再准确，因为法院越来越频繁地在他们的临时决定旁边提供解释。
“我认为，在最近的过去，我们在适当的地方做得更好——它并不总是适当的——但在适当的地方，至少在适度的程度上解释了我们自己，”卡根说。
众议员罗莎·德劳罗(Rosa DeLauro)是众议院拨款委员会的最高民主党人，在最近的道德丑闻之后，他特别向大法官施压，要求他们遵守道德规范，例如大法官克拉伦斯·托马斯未报告的与亿万富翁共和党多诺的财务关系和豪华旅行，以及大法官塞缪尔·阿利托报告的他与一名富有的对冲基金经理的豪华度假，这名经理后来在最高法院有业务往来。
德劳罗呼吁最高法院通过一项礼物禁令，引用了她的同事众议员杰米·拉斯金周二重新提出的一项法案，该法案将阻止法官接受超过50美元的礼物。
德劳罗还敦促法官们如何执行他们在2023年通过的行为准则。虽然巴雷特对支持独立的执行机制犹豫不决，但卡根说她是支持的。
“我认为，如果有一个执行机制，我们会更好，”卡根说。“我认为我的同事们非常认真地对待这一准则，所有人都尽了最大努力——我认为是成功的努力——遵守这一准则。但不为别的，为公众的信心。”
Justices pitch lawmakers on enhanced security in rare Hill appearance
U.S. Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett made a rare appearance before Congress on Tuesday to pitch lawmakers on new security enhancements for the Supreme Court even as they fielded criticism about their transparency and ethics practices.
The hearing marked the first time since 2019 that members of the Supreme Court have testified on Capitol Hill and comes as the justices seek support for a larger budget -- $228 million, up 10% from last year -- to accommodate more security.
The funding increase would go almost entirely toward beefing up personal protection for the justices, though the court has also asked for funding to support more building officers, an off-site security office and new cybersecurity hires.
Lawmakers seemed largely sympathetic to the justices on Tuesday, who cited a heightened threat environment -- and the personal toll it takes on their daily lives -- in recent years. The Supreme Court police report that threats against the justices increased by 38% last year and 25% the prior year.
In the hearing's most personal moment, Justice Barrett shared that she brought a bulletproof vest home around the time of the court's leaked opinion overturning Roe v. Wade-- a precaution she struggled to explain to her 12-year-old son.
"I didn't expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one," Barrett said, calling the threat environment "really high."
Barrett also confirmed news reports that she was the target of a swatting incident six weeks ago, saying her teenage son opened the door to swarms of law enforcement. Swatting involves hoax calls about bogus shootings and other emergencies.
Other justices have also faced security concerns in recent years, most notably when aman went to Justice Brett Kavanaugh's house in 2022looking to assassinate him in the weeks after the Dobbs opinion was leaked.
Each member currently has between four and eight agents assigned to them, the justices testified on Tuesday -- a number they said fluctuates based on the justices' schedule and the scrutiny they're under.
The Supreme Court's requested 2027 budget would significantly expand that security force. The justices are seeking $14.6 million to fund six additional agents per justice -- a total of 54 new officers -- and to hire 25 officers dedicated to the Supreme Court building.
The justices argued on Tuesday that the current staff allocation is insufficient. Barrett said it risks burn out and exhaustion, noting the same detail often drops her off at 11 p.m. and must then arrive in the morning again.
The court has also asked for $6.5 million to fund an "exterior visitor screening facility design." The money would go toward blueprints and early planning for an off-campus security process for those entering the court.
Kagan briefly addressed the proposal, saying the justices were concerned about visitors entering the building before they had been screened. Currently, members of the public go through magnetometers and x-ray machines inside the lobby area beneath the grand staircase.
The justices were also asked about more unconventional threats, including from drones and cyber warfare.
Barrett acknowledged that "drone mitigation measures are certainly on security's radar." She also said that cybersecurity attacks were increasing "by magnitudes year after year." The Supreme Court has asked for $2.3 million to fund cybersecurity-related hires -- part of a yearslong plan to protect its data and bolster technology infrastructure.
Though lawmakers largely steered clear of hot-button policy issues on Tuesday, Democrats pressed the justices on transparency-related concerns that they say have eroded trust in the court.
Lawmakers appeared most frustrated with the court’s prolific use of the so-called "shadow docket" -- also known as the "emergency docket" -- to reach decisions on emergency requests more quickly and without a full briefing or oral argument.
Notably, Kagan -- who has long been publicly critical of this practice -- defended the practice on Tuesday. She said it was no longer accurate to refer to it as "shadow" because the court was more frequently providing explanations alongside their snap decisions on the docket.
"We have done, I think, a better job in the recent past of where appropriate -- and it's not always appropriate -- but where appropriate, explaining ourselves at least to a moderate degree,” Kagan said.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, pressed the justices in particular on their ethical practices after recent ethics scandals, such as Justice Clarence Thomas'unreported financial ties to and luxury travel with a billionaire GOP donorand Justice Samuel Alito'sreported luxury vacation he took with a wealthy hedge fund managerwho later had business before theSupreme Court.
DeLauro called on the Supreme Court to adopt a gift ban, citing a bill reintroduced by her colleague Rep. Jamie Raskin on Tuesday that would prevent the justices from accepting gifts greater than $50.
DeLauro also pressed the justices on how they were enforcing theircode of conduct, adopted in 2023. Though Barrett hesitated to endorse an independent enforcement mechanism, Kagan said she was supportive.
"I think that we would be better off with an enforcement mechanism," Kagan said. "I think that my colleagues are taking this code incredibly seriously, all making every effort -- and I think successful efforts -- to live by it. But if nothing else, for public confidence."
