Alito Addresses Emergency Docket, Congress and Retirement Rumors at Scalia Dinner

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said Thursday at the Federalist Society's Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner that Congress could defund the Court and that judicial independence must be preserved. Speaking with Mollie Hemingway, he gave two reasons for the rise in emergency-docket appeals. Presidents, he said, are frustrated that Congress will not enact their broader agendas and so act unilaterally, and both parties are filing more lawsuits in district courts nationwide. Alito noted there are 680 district judges in the US. He called them dedicated and skillful but fallible, and said some have gone too far in recent rule tinkering. He also discussed artificial intelligence in courts and said he sees the judiciary as the least dangerous form of government. Alito warned that if judicial independence were eliminated, the Constitution as adopted in 1789 would no longer be the same. Article III, Section 1 bars reducing justices' pay while they hold office. A related report said Alito has reiterated that he is not retiring and is committed through the end of the current term.

Left-leaning outlets did not cover the dinner remarks in these articles. MS NOW's "Deadline: White House" analyst Jordan Rubin answered a reader question on whether a future Supreme Court could overturn the presidential immunity ruling. The Nation focused on Democrat Nathan Johnson, Texas's new attorney general, arguing he could change the legal fights that Republicans, including outgoing AG Ken Paxton, have largely won; it used harsh language about Paxton. Right-leaning outlets centered on Alito. The Daily Mail led with the emergency docket, AI, district judges and the retirement rumors. Fox News led with the defunding warning, citing The Hill, and added the constitutional pay protection. The two sides share only the Supreme Court as a subject. Reason, the alternative source, offered a distinct historical note: Justice William O. Douglas resigned on November 12, 1975.