Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Justice Kagan Calls Out Right-Wing Justices For Loss Of Trust In Court–And Alito Just Fired Back

Justice Kagan Calls Out Right-Wing Justices For Loss Of Trust In Court–And Alito Just Fired Back
Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Supreme Court Justices typically maintain a collegial public relationship despite their profound philosophical differences. Even liberal icon Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg maintained a legendarily close personal friendship with arch-conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.

But amid the current SCOTUS' rightward lurch, that friendly relationship seems to be fracturing.


This week liberal Justice Elena Kagan called out her conservative colleagues, blaming their recent spate of radically conservative decisions, like its overturn of Roe v. Wade, as damaging the public's trust in the SCOTUS.

Now conservative Justice Samuel Alito, the architect of the decision on Roe, has publicly fired back in comments to The Wall Street Journal in which he stopped short of mentioning Kagan by name but nonetheless made clear he did not appreciate her condemnation.

The back-and-forth began last week during a speech Kagan gave at Rhode Island's Salve Regina University, in which she implied SCOTUS conservatives abandoned jurisprudence and the Constitution in favor of simply doing the bidding of a radicalized White nationalist, Christian nationalist Republican Party.

As she put it:

“The very worst moments have been times when judges have even essentially reflected one party’s or one ideology’s set of views in their legal decisions."
"The thing that builds up reservoirs of public confidence is the court acting like a court and not acting like an extension of the political process.”

The comments came on the heels of similar statements Kagan made in May, in which she implied the Court has become out-of-touch with the public's ideals, a claim that has been borne out in recent months at least where reproductive rights are concerned.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Alito seemed perturbed by Kagan's observations.

“It goes without saying that everyone is free to express disagreement with our decisions and to criticize our reasoning as they see fit."
"But saying or implying that the court is becoming an illegitimate institution or questioning our integrity crosses an important line."

Alito's take ignores the fact three sitting Justices—all Trump appointees—lied under oath about their dedication to upholding Roe V. Wade as settled law during their confirmation hearings.

As for the public, they seem to be on Kagan's side. A June Gallup poll found just 25% of Americans reported confidence in the institution of the Supreme Court, a double-digit drop since 2021.

On Twitter, the Justices' swipes at each other definitely caught people's eye.

Alito's take did not sit well with most of them.



Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts also criticized Kagan's takes on the Supreme Court's legitimacy. Earlier this month, he implied her objections come down to simple personal beliefs rather than precedent or established Constitutional Law.

He told The Washington Post:

“Simply because people disagree with an opinion is not a basis for questioning the legitimacy of the court."

He added the Court’s responsibilities don't "change simply because people disagree with this opinion or that opinion or disagree with the particular mode of jurisprudence."

More from News

Screenshot of Stephen Colbert
CBS

Stephen Colbert Makes Somber Plea To Americans In Wake Of Charlie Kirk's Death

Late-night host Stephen Colbert had a somber message for Americans as he addressed the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk, stressing that "political violence only leads to more political violence."

Kirk died after an unidentified gunman shot him in the neck as he—ironically enough—mocked victims of gun violence at an event in Utah Valley State University. Kirk's murder has galvanized the far-right, with President Donald Trump and his surrogates claiming without evidence that rhetoric from Democrats is responsible for Kirk's death.

Keep ReadingShow less
a woman sunbathing on rocks.
a person sitting on a towel on a beach
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

People Share The Weirdest Flexes They Heard Someone Say With A Straight Face

It is never attractive to gloat.

Even so, some people can't help but brag, or "flex" as it is sometimes known, about certain accomplishments or attributes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @thedowntheredoc's TikTok video
@thedowntheredoc/TikTok

TikToker Hilariously Calls Out Target After Champion Pants Feature Awkwardly-Placed Front Pleat

Sometimes you can just tell when something was designed *for* women, but was not actually designed *by* women.

Take, for instance, the new pleated pants available at Target from the Champion clothing line. While there's nothing wrong with pleated pants and they certainly have a suitable spot in the workplace, the latest rendition of Champion pleated pants are, shall we say, NSFW.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @kaicutch's Instagram video
@kaicutch/Instagram

Woman Flips Her Car After Belting Out Ironic Britney Spears Lyric In Wild Viral Video

Whether we want to admit it or not, we've all had our fair share of carpool karaoke and maybe even imagined our car as our own personal recording studio.

But TikToker and Instagrammer Kaitlynn McCutcheon may have gotten too into her performance of Britney Spears' classic, "Hit Me Baby, One More Time," when the road and her car both said, "Bet."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from ​@lynnshazeen's TikTok video
@lynnshazeen/TikTok

Woman Goes Viral After Revealing How Her Obsession With Matcha Landed Her In The Hospital

Let's be honest: Too much of anything isn't good for us. It's all about the balance!

But the media and social media trends have taught us that certain things are really good for us, encouraging us to be like the "very mindful and very demure" girls and take care of ourselves. One such example is drinking more matcha, especially if you really like coffee or think you have a caffeine addiction.

Keep ReadingShow less