Regardless of how he rules in the January 6th case, his ruling will be greeted with skepticism. After all, can one disassociate oneself from beliefs that one has expressed in public, or that one’s family has likely expressed? Justice Alito’s refusal to exercise basic consideration for the Court’s reputation will forever be a stain on both the Court and his own legacy. I hope that a future Congress will institute some oversight of justices who refuse to recuse themselves in situations of clear conflict of interest.
John Hilton, Lemoyne, Pennsylvania
The presence of these particular flags on Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s property, along with his responses to many questions about his decisions, unfortunately demonstrate that he possesses personal characteristics that could lead him to abuse the powers granted to his public office, to the detriment of the people he is meant to serve.
Its hallmark is arrogance, and Justice Alito’s arrogance has been on consistent display over the past few weeks: in his insistence that he and his wife have the right to express their opinions outside the courtroom whenever and wherever they wish, in his refusal to honor the obligation imposed on all public servants to avoid activities that the public might reasonably perceive as creating a conflict between their personal interests and the public interests they are sworn to protect, and in his complete lack of concern for the reputational impact these flags have on the institution to which he serves.
Justice Alito, in response to questions about these flag-raising cases, essentially said, “There is no further discussion.” I and many other Americans disagree.
Philip Sunderland, Alexandria
Jennifer Rubin’s May 26 online column, “What Should Alito Do Before Durbin Resigns?”, is absolutely correct about how destructive the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. is and why Justice Alito should recuse himself from the January 6 case. But her criticism of Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) misses the point.
Like Durbin, I wonder whether the hearing will address the crux of the issue: the Supreme Court’s endorsement of right-wing activist policies.
Justice Alito’s actions, in my view, are shocking. His defense of the controversial flag that flies outside his home by blaming his wife, and his decision to go on an Alaskan fishing trip with Leonard Leo, both of which ignore the requirement that all justices remain impartial.
Since Justice Roberts was appointed in 2005 and Justice Alito was confirmed in 2006, the Supreme Court, with the help of Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and former President Donald Trump, has targeted our democracy. Citizens United This decision has flooded our election campaigns with dark money. In a shameful reversal, Dobbs It has stripped people of their constitutional rights.
But every Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee has staunchly opposed the ethics bill introduced by Durbin and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R-Idaho), calling it “interference with the judiciary,” and it’s highly doubtful they’ll cooperate on the issue of the flag in front of Justice Alito’s home.
The good news is that Durbin, despite his one-vote majority, was able to confirm more than 200 outstanding federal justices who share a balanced view and a shared commitment to the Constitution. As Rubin suggests, the direction of the Supreme Court is Must This will matter to your constituents. Democrats on the Judiciary Committee will continue to work hard to hold the courts accountable, and I hope our Republican colleagues will do the same.
As we work, there is one person who has the responsibility and the power to make the necessary changes immediately, and that is the unfortunately timid Supreme Court Justice, who could implement a stricter code of conduct today.
Peter Welch Burlington, Vermont
The author is a Democrat who represents Vermont in the U.S. Senate and serves on the Judiciary Committee.
I was at a local community meeting the other night and was struck by how the county probate attorney who handles probate cases, adoptions, and the like, seemed to care more about the public perception of her impartiality and fairness than Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. did.
His allowing a flag representing the radical “Stop the Steal” movement and a banner associated with that movement and the growing religious influence in government to fly in his home shows a complete disregard for the ethical standards to which all American judges, from the Supreme Court on down, must be held. His actions demonstrate not just contempt for his neighbors, but for the traditions of the American judicial system and the expectation that Americans will be treated fairly by the system itself.
Steven Lestion, Lawrenceville, New Jersey
In the early 1990s, my assignment with the Department of Defense required me to make public appearances around the country speaking to veterans groups and various civic organizations. These groups frequently sent me small souvenirs like embroidered baseball caps, logo T-shirts, and pen and pencil sets.
Upon returning to the Pentagon, I was required to submit these gifts to the Department of Defense’s Office of General Counsel and fill out a form stating who had given me the gifts and what I had done for them. A few weeks later, I received a package in the Pentagon’s internal mail containing a letter from the General Counsel stating that they had determined I had not violated any laws by accepting the gifts and that I could keep them.
Currently, it has been discovered that Supreme Court justices accept all-expense paid fishing trips, special loans to purchase luxury leisure vehicles, and thousands of dollars in speaking fees with impunity.
Why should I, an insignificant Army colonel, have been subject to ethics laws far stricter than those that apply to Supreme Court justices?
Joseph A. Schlatter, Heathville, Virginia
What does this have to do with love?
If I asked my spouse to take down that flag because it might cause me trouble, it might call into question the impartiality of the Supreme Court, and it might ultimately damage one of our nation’s most important institutions, I’m sure they would take it down.
I generally agree with Ruth Marcus, but when I read her May 30th editorial, “For Alitos, Logic is Upside Down,” I found myself nodding more than usual.
Decades ago, after graduating from law school, I served as a law clerk for a married federal judge whose wife was a fiercely independent and intelligent woman. In fact, I learned many years after my law clerkship that they voted for different parties. Despite that fact, never in a million years would a judge’s wife have done anything quite like Martha Ann Alito did. Why? For exactly the reasons Ms. Marcus gives: “[Justice Samuel A.] Justice Alito immediately recognized that the upside-down flag presented a problem.’ I think Justice Alito protested too much.
Do Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s flag critics have wives, and if so, do they have the right to tell them what they can and can’t do?
I find it odd that Republicans are defending Supreme Court Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas by saying that people should not be held accountable for the actions of their spouses.
At the same time, Republicans are attacking President Biden for the actions of his son Hunter. Do they have no sense of irony?
Larry McClemons, Annandale
God: “Have you eaten from the tree which I commanded you not to eat?”
Adam: “It was a woman…”
Congratulations to Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., whose commitment to principle has led him to adopt the oldest defense known to man.
Philip Billings, Concord, New Hampshire
Of all newspapers in the country, The Washington Post should have written a serious article about Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s unpatriotic disrespect for the flag, explaining to its readers the history, meaning and importance of the flag, and the Alitos’ disgraceful actions. An act. As a child growing up on the various military bases where my father was stationed, I watched the flag be lowered and carefully, even religiously, folded every day at sunset. When we were driving, we had to pull over so my father could salute. And when he wasn’t around, we pulled over and remained silent.
Of course, non-military people are not necessarily educated about the importance and meaning of the flag and that we should always respect it. That is why most Americans need instruction to understand how unpatriotic Justice Alito’s actions were. (The United States punished Colin Kaepernick for a much less disrespectful act, and, like Justice Alito, he had no obligation to us all.) Most schools no longer teach civics and government, or if they do, they do so as electives. I am very disappointed that this nation’s newspapers missed this opportunity to teach all Americans to show allegiance to American ideals by respecting the flag.
