Judicial Integrity vs. Political Allegiance: A Clash of Canons

5/31/24

I’m trying to be dispassionate about this latest kerfuffle about Justice Alito and the Supreme Court, but it ain’t easy.

As we all know, the Alito household hoisted two flags that have been widely recognized to be supportive of the “Stop the Steal” effort and the January 6 assault on the Capitol. The first was the American flag flown upside down at the Alito Virginia home, and the second was the Appeal to Heaven Flag at their beach house in New Jersey. In these cases, Alito disavowed any awareness of the connection between these flags and the stop the steal movement; but regardless, he assigned all responsibility for these displays to his wife, all the while defending her right to express any political views that she might harbor, irrespective of his position on the Court.

Not surprisingly, a fair number of Democratic legislators have not been mollified by Alito’s attestations of impartiality, and they have publicly called upon him to recuse himself in any upcoming trials relating to January 6th — something that Alito has categorically rejected. He cites justification for not accommodating to these demands from the Supreme Court’s code of conduct, citing the following excerpt: “(1) A Justice is presumed impartial and has an obligation to sit unless disqualified. (2) A Justice…