Supreme shamelessness

After the 2020 presidential election, as some Trump supporters falsely claimed that President Biden had stolen the office, many of them displayed a startling symbol outside their homes, on their cars and in online posts: an upside-down American flag.

One of the homes flying an inverted flag during that time was the residence of Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., in Alexandria, Va., according to photographs and interviews with neighbors.

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Mr. Biden’s inauguration was three days away.

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In coming weeks, the justices will rule on two climactic cases involving the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, including whether Mr. Trump has immunity for his actions. Their decisions will shape how accountable he can be held for trying to overturn the last presidential election and his chances for re-election in the upcoming one.

“I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag,” Justice Alito said in an emailed statement to The Times. “It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.”

  NYT

Like Clarence Thomas had nothing to do with Ginny's influence in the attempted coup.

“It might be his spouse or someone else living in his home, but he shouldn’t have it in his yard as his message to the world,” said Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia.

Well, no shit.

“You always want to be proactive about the appearance of impartiality,” Jeremy Fogel, a former federal judge and the director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute, said in an interview. “The best practice would be to make sure that nothing like that is in front of your house.”

I can't believe that needs to be said to a Supreme Court justice.

Judicial experts said in interviews that the flag was a clear violation of ethics rules, which seek to avoid even the appearance of bias, and could sow doubt about Justice Alito’s impartiality in cases related to the election and the Capitol riot.

Sow doubt?

The court has also repeatedly warned its own employees against public displays of partisan views, according to guidelines circulated to the staff and reviewed by The Times. Displaying signs or bumper stickers is not permitted, according to the court’s internal rule book and a 2022 memo reiterating the ban on political activity.

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Asked if these rules also apply to justices, the court declined to respond.

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If Justice Alito were on another court, Mr. Fogel said, the flag could also trigger some sort of review to determine if there was any misconduct. But because the Supreme Court serves as the arbiter of its own behavior, “you don’t really have anywhere to take it,” he said.

Rules are meant only for the peasants.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 04:20 pm:

Like they give a shit.

When I saw this headline in the New York Times late Thursday, a lot of different things ran through my mind. First, I wondered who had gotten through security to rig the flag at the Justice’s home. Then, as I read the story's opening lines, I figured the photo had to be a deep fake.

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We know it’s true because Justice Alito blamed his wife when asked. As though a sitting Supreme Court Justice, upon pulling up to his home and seeing the flag, wouldn’t immediately take it down and say, “Honey, I understand your feelings, but as a Justice on the United States Supreme Court, I must avoid even the appearance of impropriety, and that flag conveys a political sentiment that is an affront to the rule of law I’m sworn to uphold, especially after rioters carrying it swarmed the Capitol a week and a half ago.”

The Times reported that Alito emailed the following statement to them when asked for comment: “I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag. It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.”

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My Father-in-Law was a federal judge, my Husband was a state court judge, and I have a number of close friends on the bench. I am certain that none of their spouses or other family members would have even considered placing a political symbol like this in their front yard because they would have understood the rules, just like I did.

At the time the Alitos flew the flag in front of their house, the Court was deciding whether to hear a vote-counting challenge from Pennsylvania. The majority said no, but Justice Alito, joined by Thomas, dissented.

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It’s not complicated. If you’re committed to serving the people and ensuring they have confidence in the fair administration of justice, you just don’t. But Sam Alito did.

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The Times reported that the half-dozen or so neighbors who were aware of it asked to remain anonymous because they “feared reprisal.” Let that sink in as we contemplate what a second Trump term in office might look like.

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[Judges] must hold themselves to a higher standard in service to ensure that American justice holds the high standards of the Founding Fathers to whom Justice Alito frequently pays lip service.

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In a different era, Justice Alito, if not resigning from the Court over such a serious breach of ethics would, at a minimum, recuse himself from two cases that are currently pending before the Court: the presidential immunity case and the case deciding whether the statute that criminalizes interference with an official proceeding applies to January 6. Will there be any consequences in Alito’s case? Doubtful. Will Alito continue to sit on those two cases alongside Clarence Thomas, who has his own ethical issues? Undoubtedly.

  Joyce Vance

UPDATE 05/18/2024:

And they kept it quiet.

Dahlia Lithwick talks to Jamie Raskin about the Suprme Court's ethical problem in the last half of her latest podcast:

UPDATE 05/20/2024: