I Fail To Be Outraged

The New York Times reported earlier this month the story of a conservative Ohio couple, Donald and Gayle Wright, who were deployed by a religious rights, antiabortion organization to befriend the Alitos and other conservative justices as part of an influence campaign.

The Rev. Rob Schenck, who headed the organization, said that Gayle Wright had tipped him off inadvance about the outcome and authorship of a 2014 case, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, involving religious employers’ obligations to provide contraceptive coverage. Gayle Wright and the Alitos denied any leak (Donald Wright died in 2020), but contemporaneous evidence bolsters Schenck’s claim of advance knowledge. [WaPo]

Yes, it’s unethical to release a judgment to selected persons prior to the public release.

But, and I’m not commenting on Justice Alito, or any other Justice, SCOTUS is made up of human beings. They are subject to the same ethical and moral weaknesses as the rest of us. They are subject to the plague of arrogance that afflicts so many in all political positions.

So a Justice leaked an opinion on the right. Could have been on the left. Is it a scandal? Sure.

Am I outraged? A component of outrage is surprise at the event, and I’m not surprised. In a sense, SCOTUS was under attack by the right, and one of the Justices, or a clerk, had a moment of weakness.

It makes me a bit tired, but not outraged.