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 conduct 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 court’s legitimacy by making themselves ___19___ to the code of conduct. That would make rulings more likely to be seen as separate from politics and, ___20___, convincing as law.

　　1. [A]emphasize [B]maintain [C]modify [D] recognize

　　2. [A]when [B]lest [C]before [D] unless

　　3. [A]restored [B]weakened [C]established [D] eliminated

　　4. [A]challenged [B]compromised [C]suspected [D] accepted

　　5. [A]advanced [B]caught [C]bound [D]founded

　　6. [A]resistant [B]subject [C]immune [D]prone

　　7. [A]resorts [B]sticks [C]loads [D]applies

　　8. [A]evade [B]raise [C]deny [D]settle

　　9. [A]line [B]barrier [C]similarity [D]conflict

　　10. [A]by [B]as [C]though [D]towards

　　11. [A]so [B]since [C]provided [D]though

　　12. [A]serve [B]satisfy [C]upset [D]replace

　　13. [A]confirm [B]express [C]cultivate [D]offer

　　14. [A]guarded [B]followed [C]studied [D]tied

　　15. [A]concepts [B]theories [C]divisions [D]conceptions

　　16. [A]excludes [B]questions [C]shapes [D]controls

　　17. [A]dismissed [B]released [C]ranked [D]distorted

　　18. [A]suppress [B]exploit [C]address [D]ignore

　　19. [A]accessible [B]amiable [C]agreeable [D]accountable

　　20. [A]by all means [B]at all costs [C]in a word [D]as a result

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