Alito Ethics Defense Blown Up by Second Insurrectionist Flag; New York Magazine, May 22, 2024

Jonathan Chait, , New York Magazine; Alito Ethics Defense Blown Up by Second Insurrectionist Flag

"Now, the New York Times reports that Alito flew another flag associated with Trump’s insurrection, the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, which was carried by insurrectionists on January 6. The flag was confirmed to have flown over Alito’s beach house in July and September 2023.

Note how the old Alito defenses are totally useless in the face of this new case. It can’t be chalked up to a dispute with a neighbor, unless the same neighbor happens to own property near Alito in two different states. The wife excuse is also threadbare. (Indeed, Alito, who blamed his wife in a response to the first Times story, has no comment in response to the second one.) And the excuse that it was “a heated time in January 2021” obviously does not explain why the Alito home continued to display insurrectionist flags two and a half years later."

Judge Tests Limits of Free Speech With Facebook Jury Remarks; Associated Press via New York Times, 8/6/16

Associated Press via New York Times; Judge Tests Limits of Free Speech With Facebook Jury Remarks:

"The Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission believes Stevens went so far in misleading the public about Wine's request and undermining his own impartiality that it charged him with multiple counts of misconduct. Stevens is scheduled for a hearing Monday that could usher him off the bench for good.

But his posts ignited a debate about racial fairness, judicial impartiality and free speech that seems far from finished.

Experts say his cause was worthy: Stevens shined a light on a racial imbalance that has dogged the criminal justice system for generations. But his attack on a prosecutor for requesting an appellate opinion could cross an ethical line and threaten to drown out the issue he attempted to highlight."