The Volokh Conspiracy

Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent

About The Volokh Conspiracy

The "Stench" of Justice Sotomayor's Putrid Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

If she is so worried about the Court's politicization, she wouldn't expend so much effort to call her colleagues partisans.

|

Today I was in Washington, D.C. for a meeting on Capitol Hill. After the briefing, I walked over to the Supreme Court. And much to my pleasant surprise, no "stench" emanated from One First Street. The air was quite fresh. But at least one Justice will do everything in her power to ensure that a "stench" is perceived, and then commiserate how her partisan colleagues created that "stench." During arguments in Dobbs, Justice Sotomayor cast a putrid, self-fulfilling prophecy.

Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts?

Questions like these will help bolster the negative public perception she apparently dreads. Sotomayor must have known that the livestream would make that line go viral. Already, allies are merchandizing.

And as we speak, Justice Sotomayor is likely writing a blistering dissent excoriating her colleagues. Does she call on Congress to "heal" the Court?

If Justice Sotomayor is so worried about the Court's politicization, then she shouldn't expend so much effort to call her colleagues partisan.