POLITICS

Alito reluctant to discuss state of Supreme Court after Roe leak

By Robert Barnes and Lauren Lumpkin
Yesterday at 7:45 p.m. EDT

In his first public address since the explosive leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion he wrote that would overturn Roe v. Wade, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. breezed through a detailed examination of statutory textualism, and renewed a disagreement over the court’s decision saying federal discrimination law protects gay and transgender workers. ... But he was a little stumped by the final audience question from a crowd at Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University: Are he and the other justices at a place where they could get a nice meal together? ... “I think it would just be really helpful for all of us to hear, personally, are you all doing okay in these very challenging times?” the questioner asked.

[Supreme Court is ready to strike down Roe v. Wade, leaked draft shows]

The fact that Alito was speaking via closed circuit from a room at the Supreme Court seven miles away, rather than in person, was a sign these are not normal times. ... “This is a subject I told myself I wasn’t going to talk about today regarding, you know — given all the circumstances,” Alito replied. ... After a pause, he added: “The court right now, we had our conference this morning, we’re doing our work. We’re taking new cases, we’re headed toward the end of the term, which is always a frenetic time as we get our opinions out.”

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The disclosure of the draft opinion, indicating at least five members of the court at least tentatively voted to overturn Roe’s guarantee of the right to abortion, has shaken the court, which prides itself on private deliberations. Protesters demonstrated at Alito’s home, not far from the George Mason campus,* and were in force outside Thursday’s ticketed event, the fourth annual Scalia Forum.



Protesters, including, Sierra Lodi, 18, of South Riding, Va., rally during a virtual speech Thursday by Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. at George Mason University's campus in Arlington, Va. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

As attendees filed into the law school event, roughly two dozen protesters on both sides of the abortion issue shouted chants outside at a campus plaza near the law school building in Arlington, Va. ... “Hey hey, ho ho, Alito has got to go! Hey hey, ho ho we must defend Roe!” ... The group was largely George Mason students who skipped studying for final exams to demonstrate. ... “I had a final last night and I have a final tomorrow,” said Adam Rizzoli, a 19-year-old first-year student from Vienna, Va. But, he added, some things are more important than one’s GPA. “Sometimes you just have to act.”

{snip}

Nicole Asbury and Susan Svrluga contributed to this report.

By Robert Barnes
Robert Barnes has been a Washington Post reporter and editor since 1987. He joined The Post to cover Maryland politics, and he has served in various editing positions, including metropolitan editor and national political editor. He has covered the Supreme Court since November 2006. Twitter https://twitter.com/scotusreporter

By Lauren Lumpkin
Lauren Lumpkin is a reporter at The Washington Post covering local colleges and universities. Twitter https://twitter.com/laurenmlumpkin