SCOTUS Thrown Into ‘Chaos’ After Conservative Justices Complain
Frustrations among Supreme Court justices became public this week as conservatives complained that the court’s liberal wing was stealing the spotlight during oral arguments.
Chief Justice John Roberts resorted to enforcing a COVID-era protocol that requires justices to speak in order of seniority, interrupting a response from liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who said it wasn’t her turn just as she began to speak. Top.
The tense encounter took place during a debate over whether mail-in ballots should be counted after polls closed on Election Day. After conservative Justice Clarence Thomas concluded his speech, Sotomayor tried to contribute as well.
Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan make up the court’s liberal wing. /Convening of the United States Supreme Court via Getty Images
“Do we have anything?” Sotomayor asked Monday, according to the report. he started asking.
Roberts immediately intervened.
According to The Hill, he raised his voice and said, “Justice – Justice.”
“I’m sorry,” Sotomayor responded.
“—Alito,” the chief justice concluded, referring to Justice Samuel Alito, who was next in seniority.
The seniority policy was implemented during the then-Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, when the court heard arguments remotely and broadcast them live for the first time. Roberts has maintained this policy since debates returned to in-person, but has not implemented it in oral arguments.
The Hill described the hearing as “chaos.” The report added that Roberts showed “visible frustration” with the court’s three liberal justices, who dominated his speaking time Tuesday during arguments over the return of asylum seekers at the southern border.
An analysis of speaking times showed that Sotomayor, 71, and liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, 55, accounted for 46 percent of the remarks made by the nine justices during oral arguments on asylum seekers.
Chief Justice John Roberts, 71, was appointed to the high court by George W. Bush. /Erin Schaff/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
During these arguments, Hill reported, the justices “couldn’t help but step on each other’s toes.”
Outsiders noticed the tension.
Conservative attorney Ed Whelan filed the following complaint about
The post reportedly came as Sotomayor was arguing with Justice Department attorney Vivek Suri.
This isn’t the first time SCOTUS’ internal tensions have come into the public eye in MAGA 2.0. Last month, Brown Jackson criticized his conservative colleagues for allegedly doing Trump’s bidding and suggested they were abusing the so-called “shadow cause.”
Jackson, who was nominated by President Joe Biden in 2022, said the high court was quick to address Trump’s list. emergencies It led to a “distorted” legal process that was an “unfortunate” departure from decades of precedent.
“This increase in the court’s willingness to get involved in hot cases is a really unfortunate problem,” Jackson said at a legal event in Washington. “I don’t think it serves the court or our country very well at this point.”
Ketanji Brown Jackson, 55, was appointed to the high court by President Joe Biden. / Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images
Last summer, Brown Jackson and Sotomayor also ditched the traditional jokes in their opponents, stopping to use the word “respectfully” before writing the words “I disagree.” The change may seem marginal to outsiders, but it has been described as the SCOTUS version of the F-bomb.
Although they’ve disagreed more than they’ve agreed so far this year, the high court agreed on one issue Wednesday.
The court ruled that Cox Communications, a major internet provider, could not be held liable for the piracy of thousands of songs online. Music companies and publishers sued the internet provider in 2018, claiming it took little action against users who illegally downloaded copyrighted music on its platform.
In an opinion released Wednesday, the court said the companies were not liable “solely providing services to the public knowing that they would be used by some to infringe copyrights.”
