BS BRIEF
- Mollie Hemingway argued this week that conservative Supreme Court justices face greater personal security risks and public hostility than their liberal colleagues, contrasting their experiences during a television interview.
- Her comments come as debate over the Court’s public image continues following a contentious term marked by ideological divisions, unusually public disagreements among the justices and heightened political scrutiny.
- Security surrounding members of the Supreme Court has remained a major issue since the 2022 attempted assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and subsequent congressional efforts to bolster protections for the justices and their families.
MOLLIE HEMINGWAY SAYS CONSERVATIVE JUSTICES LIVE UNDER A DIFFERENT SET OF RULES
The debate over America’s highest court isn’t just about legal opinions anymore. Increasingly, it’s about the lives the justices lead once they leave the courthouse.
Appearing in a recent television interview, The Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway argued there is a stark contrast between how liberal and conservative members of the Supreme Court are treated in public.
According to Hemingway, some members of the Court can comfortably participate in public events, speaking engagements and even Broadway productions without facing the same level of personal risk confronting several conservative justices.
“Certain” justices, Hemingway said, can “literally go perform on Broadway,” while others who are “trying to uphold the Constitution” have difficulty doing something as ordinary as taking their families to dinner because “they might get shot.”
Her comments reference an issue that has lingered around the Court for several years: security.
Following the leak of the draft Dobbs opinion in 2022, demonstrations occurred outside the homes of several conservative justices. That same year, authorities arrested an armed California man outside Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Maryland residence after prosecutors said he intended to kill the justice. Congress later expanded security protections for immediate family members of Supreme Court justices amid growing concerns about political violence.
Those developments fundamentally changed how the Court approaches personal security, particularly for members viewed as central figures in some of the nation’s most polarizing constitutional disputes.
Hemingway has spent much of the past year discussing the institution while promoting her recent book on Justice Samuel Alito. During appearances at legal forums and media interviews, she has argued that the Court has increasingly become the target of organized political campaigns aimed at influencing public opinion and intimidating justices through sustained public pressure.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- Fox News: Mollie Hemingway breaks down the “disparity” in treatment between liberal and conservative Supreme Court justices. (television segment)
- Financial Times: Knives out at US Supreme Court as justices’ squabbles go public – https://www.ft.com/content/815fe0f4-03c5-4583-9baf-a0cf679624a7
- The Heritage Foundation: A Conversation with Mollie Hemingway on Justice Samuel Alito and the U.S. Supreme Court – https://www.heritage.org/courts/event/conversation-mollie-hemingway-justice-samuel-alito-and-the-us-supreme-court
- YouTube (Fox News clip): The One-Sided War on the Supreme Court – Mollie Hemingway – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2uTpNIstDk
- Financial Times: Knives out at US Supreme Court as justices’ squabbles go public – https://www.ft.com/content/815fe0f4-03c5-4583-9baf-a0cf679624a7
