Democratic senators Dick Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse are requesting a meeting with Chief Justice John Roberts to discuss Supreme Court ethics in light of reports that flags flown outside of Justice Samuel Alito’s properties were carried by rioters during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The senators are seeking steps to ensure Alito recuses himself from cases related to the attack or former President Donald Trump’s election challenges. Public trust in the Supreme Court is at a low point, with conservative Justice Clarence Thomas also facing calls to recuse himself due to his wife’s support for Trump.
The court has not responded to the senators’ request for a meeting. Alito is participating in major cases related to the Capitol attack and Trump’s immunity from election interference charges, despite previous calls for recusal from Democrats. Reports have revealed an inverted American flag at Alito’s Washington home and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag at his New Jersey beach home, both of which were carried by Capitol rioters echoing Trump’s election fraud claims.
Alito has claimed that the inverted American flag at his home resulted from a dispute with neighbors, and he had no involvement. The court has not provided any response on how the “Appeal to Heaven” flag came to be flying and its intended meaning. Judicial ethics codes emphasize judges’ independence and the avoidance of political statements on matters they may rule on. The Supreme Court adopted a code of ethics in November 2023 after criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts to some justices, but enforcement mechanisms are lacking.
Despite pressure from Democratic senators Durbin and Whitehouse, who are advocating for stricter standards through legislation, the Supreme Court has faced resistance from Republicans opposed to external influence. The senators are continuing efforts to address the ethical crisis within the court, with the request for a meeting with Chief Justice Roberts being a new approach after he declined to testify at a hearing on Supreme Court ethics the previous year. It remains to be seen how the court will respond to the senators’ concerns and calls for improved ethical standards.
