Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is in the spotlight after a picture of an upside-down American flag outside his house circulated online.
Alito’s wife ran the upside-down flag up the pole in front of their home in the days following the Jan. 6 insurrection in response to an extended fight with neighbors over their insulting language and crude yard signs, the justice said in a statement to the New York Times. The upside-down flag has historically been a symbol of distress for the country and has also been associated with the “Stop the Steal” movement spearheaded by former President Donald Trump to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
“I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag,” Alito said. “It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.”
According to the outlet, neighbors took photographs of Alito’s house in Alexandria, Virginia, with the upside-down flag. Alito flew the flag beginning Jan. 17, 2021, and it flew like that for several days after, according to eyewitnesses.
While flying the flag upside down is not against the law, experts have said Alito’s action could be a violation of judicial ethics rules, in which justices are supposed to appear apolitical and unbiased.
“It might be his spouse or someone else living in his home, but he shouldn’t have it in his yard as his message to the world,” said Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia. She continued to say this was “the equivalent of putting a ‘Stop the Steal’ sign in your yard, which is a problem if you’re deciding election-related cases.”
The Supreme Court has rules about its employees displaying signs of partisanship, including prohibiting them from displaying signs or bumper stickers touting partisan positions. However, it’s unclear whether the court’s rules apply to justices or their families.
At the time, the Supreme Court was considering whether to hear a case that would have overturned the results of the 2020 election in Pennsylvania and directed the state legislator to appoint electors. Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that they wanted to bring the case forward in their dissent to the majority opinion.
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As the Supreme Court is set to decide a case about whether Trump has presidential immunity from his actions on Jan. 6, critics of Republican-appointed justices have asked Alito to recuse himself from the case. Thomas is also being asked to recuse himself due to his wife’s direct involvement in attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
“It really is a question of appearances and the potential impact on public confidence in the court,” Jeremy Fogel, a former federal judge and the director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute, told the outlet. “I think it would be better for the court if he weren’t involved in cases arising from the 2020 election. But I’m pretty certain that he will see that differently.”
