During two distinct occasions on Friday, Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito raised concerns about the current state of America. They both highlighted the perilous decline of freedom of speech and criticized Washington, D.C., as a hotbed of cancel culture, describing it as “hideous.”
Justice Thomas addressed a gathering of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Point Clear, Alabama, while Justice Alito gave a commencement speech at Franciscan University of Steubenville, a Catholic institution in Ohio. Both conservative judges depicted a grim scenario but also urged for proactive measures and provided words of encouragement.
During the event in Alabama, Justice Thomas was asked to comment by the moderator, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, to share his thoughts on working “in a world that seems meanspirited.”
“I think there’s challenges to that,” Justice Thomas said. “We’re in a world and we—certainly my wife and I the last two or three years it’s been—just the nastiness and the lies, it’s just incredible.”
Justice Thomas has been under heavy fire from Democrats, who allege that he has sidestepped disclosure regulations, engaged in corruption, and maintained close ties with wealthy Republicans. However, they have failed to cite any particular court cases where the justice has acted improperly. Certain activists have gone as far as advocating for Justice Thomas’s impeachment.
In contrast, more than 100 former Supreme Court clerks signed an open letter last year in support of Justice Thomas, praising his integrity and describing him as a man of “unwavering principle” with an “unshakeable” independence.
They denounced several critical narratives aimed at him as “malicious” and “perpetuating the ugly assumption that the Justice cannot think for himself.”
“They are part of a larger attack on the Court and its legitimacy as an institution,” the letter also stated. “The picture they paint of the Court and the man for whom we worked bears no resemblance to reality.”
Public opinion polls suggest public trust in the Supreme Court recently fell to new lows.
Responding to the criticism, Justice Thomas remarked at the Alabama conference that Washington had transformed into a “hideous” place where “people pride themselves in being awful.” He contrasted this with the rest of America outside the Beltway, portraying it as a place where ordinary people “don’t pride themselves in doing harmful things.”
Justice Thomas also voiced worry that legal writings have become difficult for the average person to comprehend, leading to feelings of alienation.
“The regular people I think are being disenfranchised sometimes by the way that we talk about cases,” Justice Thomas said, while expressing hope that this could change.
Justice Alito warned graduates at the Catholic college in Ohio that both freedom of speech and religion are under attack in today’s America. However, he expressed optimism that young individuals would step forward and fight for positive transformation.
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