Litigation

Editorial: ?Justices? Boycotting Speech is Political Act?

By Peter Hardin

When Supreme Court justices stay away from the State of the Union address, is it a political snub?

A Boston Globe editorial suggests as much about the no-show Tuesday by Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito Jr. at President Obama’s speech. It also rues what it calls the three conservative justices’ thereby bringing “politics to the court:”

“Showing up isn?t a political gesture; boycotting it is. Chief Justice John Roberts, who had wavered about attending, seems to have realized this and agreed to lead the court contingent [that attended].”

“[T]he nation is best served by a Supreme Court it can trust to be a source of independent judicial review. When justices advertise their politics, even through indirect gestures like skipping speeches, they undermine their position. They should show better judgment.”

The editorial also chides Obama, saying he doesn’t have grounds for complaint “because his scolding of the court last year over its campaign-finance decision was rude and self-serving.” The president “deserves some blame for politicizing the court,” the editorial said. “But he’s a politician.”

Full post as published by The Gavel on January 27, 2011 (boomark / email).