Justice Alito thinks only liberals deserve stinging rebukes |
Justice Alito thinks only liberals deserve stinging rebukes
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito does not take criticism well, whether from members of Congress, investigative journalists or other justices disagreeing with him on cases. His latest display of sour temperament came in response to a dissenting opinion from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in a matter with profound racial implications.
In Louisiana v. Callais, Alito wrote an opinion, on behalf of the 6 to 3 conservative majority, that virtually nullified the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by authorizing the elimination of Black-majority congressional districts. In a follow-up order, the court waived the usual 32-day certification period, putting the ruling into effect almost immediately.
In a dissent, Jackson admonished the majority for risking “an appearance of partiality.” By speeding the decision into effect, with its “strong political undercurrent,” the conservatives seemed “to endorse Louisiana’s efforts to change its congressional map” at the expense of a Black-majority congressional district.
Ever the sore winner, Alito took umbrage. The dissent, also joined by Justices Sonya Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, had been directed at the substance of the majority decision. Alito’s retort, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, made it personal. The dissent was not only “baseless and insulting,” they said, but also “groundless and utterly irresponsible.”
Alito has not always been so sensitive to colleagues’ sharp words. For 10 years, from 2006 to 2016, he shared the Supreme Court bench with the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who was legendary for his scathing rebukes of fellow........