The ethical judgments of the Supreme Court justices have become an important issue recently.The court cannot _____（1）its legitimacy as guardian of the rule of law _____（2）justices behave like politicians. Yet, in several instances, justices acted in ways that _____（3）the court’s reputation for being independent and impartial.

Justice Antonin Scalia,for example,appeared at political events.That kind of activity makes it less likely that the court’s;decisions will be _____（4）as impartial judgments. Part of the problem is that the justices are not_____（5）by an ethics code. At the very least, the court should make itself _____（6）to the code of congduct that _____（7）to the rest of the federal judiciary.

This and other similar cases _____（8）the question of whether there is still a_____（9）between the court and politics.

The framers of the Constitution envisioned law _____（10）having authority apart from politics. They gave justices permanent positions_____（11）they would be free to _____（12）those in power and have no need to _____（13）political support. Our legal system was designed to set law apart from politics precisely because they are so closely_____（14）.

Constitutional law is political because it results from choices rooted in fundamental social _____（15）like liberty and property. When the court deals with social policy decisions, the law it _____（16）is inescapably political-which is why decisions split along ideological lines are so easily_____（17）as unjust.

The justices must_____（18）doubts about the courts legitimacy by making themselves_____（19）to the code of conduct.That would make their rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and,_____（20）, convincing as law.