A Problem with the Supreme Court

Dahlia Lithwick: “Rather than hurling ourselves headlong into the ‘Alito Must Recuse’ brick wall of ‘yeah, no,’ we need to dedicate the upcoming election cycle, and the attendant election news cycle, to a discussion of what it means to have a Supreme Court that is functionally immune from political pressure, from internal norms of behavior, from judicial ethics and disclosure constraints, and from congressional oversight and why that is deeply dangerous.”

Joyce Vance: “Perhaps we will learn some feud with local aquatic life led Mrs. Alito to fly the flag. But sarcasm aside, when you’re a Supreme Court Justice, you’re supposed to avoid giving off even a whiff of partisan bias. Or religious favoritism. As a judge, and certainly, as a Supreme Court Justice, you have that duty. Justice Alito flunks the test and flunks it badly.”