(Photo
by
Chip
Somodevilla/Getty
Images)
Guess
what?
Members
of
the
Supreme
Court
are
still
very
concerned
about
the
legitimacy
of
the
Supreme
Court.
You’ll
recall
Chief
Justice
John
Roberts’s desperate
plea,
practically
begging
folks
to
see
the
Court
as
legitimate.
That
was
rebutted
by
Elena
Kagan,
repeatedly,
in
what
was
pretty
much
a
direct
response
to
Roberts’s
take
on
the
current
state
of
the
Court.
Now
Samuel
Alito
has
entered
the
chat.
Alito
previously
told
a
judicial
conference,
“Simply
because
people
disagree
with
an
opinion
is
not
a
basis
for
questioning
the
legitimacy
of
the
court,”
and
that
the
Court’s
role,
”doesn’t
change
simply
because
people
disagree
with
this
opinion
or
that
opinion
or
disagree
with
the
particular
mode
of
jurisprudence.”
But
he
wasn’t
content
to
let
those
words
sit.
In
a
comment
to
The
Wall
Street
Journal,
Alito
threw
a
hissy
fit
that
anyone
dares
question
the
Court:
“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.”
What
then
does
it
say
about
a
jurist
that
would
rather
lash
out
rather
than
listen
when
colleagues
are
leveling
fair
criticism?
Kagan’s
already
done
a
pretty
stellar
job
explaining
what’s
up
to
the
thick
headed
like
Alito.
But
make
no
mistake,
the
Court’s
decision
in
Dobbs
v.
Jackson
Women’s
Health
has
changed
how
the
nation
forever
perceives
SCOTUS.
Regardless
of
what
you
think
of
abortion,
here’s
what
we
know
that
makes
Dobbs
distinct:
(1)
it
took
away
a
right
that
has
been
enjoyed
for
over
50
years.
Conservatives
attempt
to
compare
the
decision
to
Brown
v.
Board
of
Ed.
overturning
the
abominable
legal
protection
of
segregation
enshrined
in
Plessy
v.
Ferguson.
But
in
that
instance
the
Court
—
and
an
unanimous
one
at
that
—
extended
rights
instead
of
curtailing
them.
(2)
After
the
Dobbs
case,
sitting
U.S.
Senators
went
on
record
saying
they
were
personally
misled
when
members
of
the
Court
testified
that
they
believed
Roe
v.
Wade
was
established
precedent.
And
then
those
judges,
you
know,
went
ahead
and
overturned
it
anyway.
Now,
let’s
put
aside
questions
as
to
whether
those
sitting
Senators
were
dumb
marks
or
knowingly
accepting
the
lie
when
those
representations
were
made,
but
it
remains
a
continuing
part
of
the
Dobbs
conversation.
Let’s
talk
about
the
other
big
reason
the
Supreme
Court’s
legitimacy
is
in
the
toilet:
stolen
seats.
Mitch
McConnell
unilaterally
decided
not
to
take
a
vote
on
Merrick
Garland’s
Supreme
Court
nomination.
It
was
a
wild
shock
that
had
literally
never
been
done
before,
but
he
made
up
some
mealy-mouthed
excuse
and
ran
with
it.
Then
when
the
exactly
analogous
situation
arose
upon
the
passing
of
Ruth
Bader
Ginsburg,
well,
McConnell
rushed
through
the
nomination
of
Amy
Coney
Barrett.
These
bold
shenanigans
created
the
exact
margin
in
one
of
the
most
controversial
cases
of
all
time
and
Alito
has
the
unmitigated
gall
to
suggest
that
he’s
SHOCKED
that
people
are
questioning
the
legitimacy
of
the
Court?
Get
a
fucking
grip.
Listen,
the
power
of
the
Court
is
always
tenuous
—
there’s
no
army
that
goes
around
enforcing
the
Court’s
decisions.
But
previous
Courts
have
been
acutely
aware
of
that
fact
and
chosen
to
tread
cautiously
as
they
make
new
law.
Like
when
Earl
Warren
worked
overtime
to
ensure
the
Brown
decision
would
be
9-0
to
ensure
it
would
be
viewed
as
legitimate.
Notice
that
he
didn’t
callously
throw
the
power
of
5+
votes
around
like
Alito’s
majority
did
in
Dobbs.
The
scorched
earth
rhetoric
and
slipshod
historical
analysis
in
Dobbs
were
merely
window
dressing
for
the
majority’s
political
result.
But
here’s
Alito,
unwilling
to
even
listen
to
criticism.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
(@Kathryn1).