State Of The Union

Which Supreme Court Justices Are Skipping The SOTU?

Eric Kleefeld | January 25, 2011, 12:19PM

Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia

The Supreme Court appears to be dividing 6-3 -- on whether the nine individual Justices are attending tonight's State of the Union address.

As you might recall, last year Justice Samuel Alito got into some controversy when he reflexively mouthed out the words "not true" in response to Obama's criticism of the Citizens United ruling, which overturned a variety of limits on corporate spending in political campaigns.

Several weeks later, Chief Justice John Roberts said he was "very troubled" by the whole environment of the State of the Union: "To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I'm not sure why we are there."

And as it turns out, some of the conservatives justices won't be there this time, either -- a new practice for Alito himself, and a long-standing one for others. But interestingly enough, Roberts is still going.

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Earmarks

Oops! Republican Asks Scalia About Constitutionality Of Earmarks

Brian Beutler | January 25, 2011, 8:59AM

At a tea party in Washington, D.C. in 2009.

The latest in a recent string of Constitution gaffes might make Republicans think twice about their earmark moratorium.

On Monday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) hosted a seminar for (mostly Republican) House members on the Constitution. Her special guest was Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who presided over what was reportedly a fairly dry, straightforward discussion of his legal doctrine, and answered a handful of other Constitutional questions.

At least one of these, it turned out, was embarrassingly rudimentary.

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Antonin Scalia

Dem Reps. Back Scalia's Attendance At Tea Party Constitution Event

Brian Beutler | January 25, 2011, 8:55AM

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

Critics of conservative Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia were quick to raise red flags Monday after he emceed a member seminar on the Constitution at the behest of Tea Party caucus leader Michele Bachmann. MSNBC hosts Lawrence O'Donnell and Rachel Maddow, in particular, suggested his visit was a symptom of the increasing politicization of the Court -- particularly among its conservative members.

But Monday evening, two progressive members who attended the seminar vouched for Scalia and the event, and dispelled the notion that anything untoward happened.

According to Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), who addressed reporters just outside the forum, the event was "incredibly useful, partly just to get the sense of Justice Scalia as an individual."

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Antonin Scalia

Scalia: 14th Amendment Doesn't Protect Women Against Discrimination

Jillian Rayfield | January 4, 2011, 3:23PM

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said in an interview released this week that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution doesn't protect against discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.

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