via Chief Justice Roberts ‘Troubled’ by Scene at the State of the Union – ABC News.
Roberts said Tuesday that he was “very troubled” by the “setting, circumstance and decorum” of the State of the Union speech, where justices are forced to sit expressionless while Congress “literally surrounds them,” at times cheering and hollering.
Six of the nine justices of the Supreme Court were sitting in the audience, and the cameras captured Justice Samuel Alito shaking his head in disagreement when Obama said, “With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates.”
–
A Judge is supposed to be impartial. Given that a Supreme Court Justice is the epitome of the Judicial Branch, they should exemplify this behavior. Its they’re goddamn job to be professional when others are “cheering, hollering” or applauding.
If a justice applauded when Obama talked about Health Care Reform, he or she would be lambasted by the Right. I have no doubt in my mind that Chief Justice Roberts would lead that charge. His complaint about “the decorum” is utter and total bullshit.
May 6th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
gotta pretty much agree with you, especially the Health Care point.
I think a SC Justice (or any judge) should be able to drop the mandatory impartiality thing when he’s off duty. Any ruling s/he makes will come down on one side or the other, so at that point impartiality goes out the window too, but that’s their job.
Is a lil headshake and a comment professional? No, but neither is getting blindsided by a comment from the podium like that.