A year ago this week, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito received a standing ovation at a Federalist Society event, where the jurist praised the conservative group and its impact. “Boy,” the far-right justice said, “is your work needed today.”
Alito wasn’t alone: Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, each of whom were nominated by Donald Trump, were also in attendance.
Almost exactly a year later, the Federalist Society held another celebration in the nation’s capital, and the identical lineup of four sitting Supreme Court justices were again on hand to join in the organization’s festivities. This time, however, it was a different conservative receiving an ovation. The Washington Post reported:
Justice Amy Coney Barrett received a standing ovation Thursday night at a black-tie gala for the Federalist Society, the conservative legal group that played a key role in her 2020 nomination and in helping former president Donald Trump transform the federal judiciary.
To be sure, Barrett’s comments at the event were rather anodyne. She talked about her schedule, her family, and the “collegial” relationships she enjoys with her contemporaries on the high court.
But her appearance was notable in its own right, independent of her remarks.
It’s one thing when Supreme Court justices appear at universities or legal symposiums; it’s something else when they extend their imprimatur to ideological causes. Politico, for example, has described the Federalist Society as a “right-leaning lawyers’ group that has become instrumental in grooming and vetting candidates to be nominated to the federal judiciary by Republican presidents.”
When a sitting justice — or more to the point, when the same four sitting justices — repeatedly help celebrate such an organization, they necessarily give the impression that they’re part of a broader political movement.
What’s more, Barrett’s appearance came against a backdrop in which the Senate Judiciary Committee is investigating Supreme Court ethics controversies. As part of its probe, the panel has questions for conservative activist Leonard Leo — one of the Federalist Society’s longtime leaders, who was also in attendance last night.
None of this does the court any favors. Gallup polling has found public trust in the Supreme Court deteriorating to historical lows, and a national Grinnell College/Selzer survey last year found that nearly two-thirds of Americans agree that politics drives the justices’ rulings.
Members of the court’s far-right majority could take steps to reassure the public that the Supreme Court is a neutral arbiter worthy of trust and respect. They keep doing the opposite. A couple of years ago, Barrett tried to defend the Supreme Court’s political impartiality — while speaking alongside Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who rushed her onto the bench during the 2020 presidential election as part of a brazenly political display. “My goal today is to convince you that this court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks,” the justice said at the time. Is it any wonder why some find her assurances hard to believe? This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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