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demmiblue

(36,851 posts)
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 11:18 AM Jan 2022

Chief Justice asked his colleagues to mask up out of respect for Sotomayor's health concerns,...

Nina Totenberg reports that (1) the Chief Justice asked his colleagues to mask up out of respect for Sotomayor’s health concerns, (2) only Gorsuch refused, and (3) his refusal forced Sotomayor to participate in arguments and conference remotely. https://npr.org/2022/01/18/1073428376/supreme-court-justices-arent-scorpions-but-not-happy-campers-either





It was pretty jarring earlier this month when the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court took the bench for the first time since the omicron surge over the holidays. All were now wearing masks. All, that is, except Justice Neil Gorsuch. What's more, Justice Sonia Sotomayor was not there at all, choosing instead to participate through a microphone setup in her chambers.

Sotomayor has diabetes, a condition that puts her at high risk for serious illness, or even death, from COVID-19. She has been the only justice to wear a mask on the bench since last fall when, amid a marked decline in COVID-19 cases, the justices resumed in-person arguments for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.

Now, though, the situation had changed with the omicron surge, and according to court sources, Sotomayor did not feel safe in close proximity to people who were unmasked. Chief Justice John Roberts, understanding that, in some form asked the other justices to mask up.

They all did. Except Gorsuch, who, as it happens, sits next to Sotomayor on the bench. His continued refusal since then has also meant that Sotomayor has not attended the justices' weekly conference in person, joining instead by telephone.
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Chief Justice asked his colleagues to mask up out of respect for Sotomayor's health concerns,... (Original Post) demmiblue Jan 2022 OP
Sexism at its finest Freddie Jan 2022 #1
This is way worse than that - this is a complete insult to the notion of malaise Jan 2022 #55
Gorsuch came to the court with a reputation of being a 1st class asshole. plimsoll Jan 2022 #69
SELFISHNESS elleng Jan 2022 #64
I don't think that's it Polybius Jan 2022 #71
It's more than sexism. It's obvious that Roberts doesn't want to show support Baitball Blogger Jan 2022 #2
Donig Gods work, so he will say. Hotler Jan 2022 #3
Perhaps God will give Gorsuch the C-19, and he will pass it to Thomas, Bong-boy, NCjack Jan 2022 #82
This Supreme Court will be the end of this nation. Absolute scum, anyone that thinks otherwise is dem4decades Jan 2022 #4
Agree True Blue American Jan 2022 #41
Anyone who thinks otherwise DownriverDem Jan 2022 #76
They were lasered in trying to do that, and take over state legislatures, both which will end dem4decades Jan 2022 #81
What a d{k. bamagal62 Jan 2022 #5
Ugh ableism. WhiskeyGrinder Jan 2022 #6
Gorsuch is a selfish entitled person. madaboutharry Jan 2022 #7
Selfishness is a conservative trait! Emile Jan 2022 #8
Gov Youngkin Traildogbob Jan 2022 #12
selfishness is their holy grail.... lastlib Jan 2022 #40
selfishness is the basis of modern conservative ideology DBoon Jan 2022 #70
So seta1950 Jan 2022 #9
So seta1950 Jan 2022 #10
Gorsuch is an asshole. Calista241 Jan 2022 #11
I was going to say douchebag. ShazzieB Jan 2022 #54
why being so nice ? monkeyman1 Jan 2022 #59
Opinion: Where was Justice Neil Gorsuch's mask? LetMyPeopleVote Jan 2022 #13
Whatever happened to the concept of civic duty? Lasher Jan 2022 #17
What Happened RobinA Jan 2022 #23
Bingo. Ferretherder Jan 2022 #77
Ask the Republican party & their supporters. They have no sense of duty... CaptainTruth Jan 2022 #28
Imagine Being The Biggest Asshole In The Room... GB_RN Jan 2022 #14
Oh, SNAP!!!!!!! MyOwnPeace Jan 2022 #22
Applause! True Blue American Jan 2022 #42
Ding Ding Ding (bell ringing) Alice Kramden Jan 2022 #52
We certainly do! 🤣 ShazzieB Jan 2022 #56
Once an a**hole, always an a**hole. sinkingfeeling Jan 2022 #15
So, here is my question. If Gorsuch is the only one who refused... SKKY Jan 2022 #16
Because Rs stick together to own the libs. KS Toronado Jan 2022 #33
Isolation is a choice Polybius Jan 2022 #72
Another nazi piece of shit going around attempting to murder people. onecaliberal Jan 2022 #18
Like we didn't know Gorsuch is a huge fucking asshole ZonkerHarris Jan 2022 #19
Roberts' failure krkaufman Jan 2022 #20
True. GB_RN Jan 2022 #21
100% True Blue American Jan 2022 #44
Gorsuch's behavior should be exhibit A in why mandates can be necessary, thesquanderer Jan 2022 #53
Ironic that Gorsuch chooses to illustrate MadameButterfly Jan 2022 #84
Gorsuch asshole. calimary Jan 2022 #24
100% True Blue American Jan 2022 #45
Robert's Legacy is fucked. And I know he cares about it too. Tommymac Jan 2022 #25
How the judge on trial justified following Hitler tinymontgomery Jan 2022 #26
If Roberts is concerned about his court's legacy - 70sEraVet Jan 2022 #27
A real Republican shit. Just like his mother. Grins Jan 2022 #29
What a horrible man. milestogo Jan 2022 #30
Simple question why no make the A$$hole sit on the left or rightend of the bench. usaf-vet Jan 2022 #31
Asshole. AngryOldDem Jan 2022 #32
First Gorsuch should not be on the bench, second Gorsuch is pretty petty, I think he's doing it turbinetree Jan 2022 #34
Hey Roberts, ( I won't address you by justice you don't deserve it) kacekwl Jan 2022 #35
Irony will be? The Jungle 1 Jan 2022 #36
WTF, from a ski merch family? YP_Yooper Jan 2022 #37
Totally upside down elias7 Jan 2022 #38
For SCJ Gorsuch: Mr. Evil Jan 2022 #39
So much for SCOTUS "not looking political" budkin Jan 2022 #43
Roberts doesn't care about nada Pas-de-Calais Jan 2022 #46
Rt TY.. Exactlyl GorShite should Cha Jan 2022 #47
GorSUCKS nt Wicked Blue Jan 2022 #48
No decency. at all. Evolve Dammit Jan 2022 #49
The Chief needs to make it an Order pwb Jan 2022 #50
I agree rpannier Jan 2022 #79
Gorsuch is an asshole WillUSAF Jan 2022 #51
This is beyond shocking. Our SC justices can't even be nice to each other!!!!! nt LAS14 Jan 2022 #57
That man is a thoughtless fool and always has been RANDYWILDMAN Jan 2022 #58
American people need to make a case for eliminating the S.C. ? monkeyman1 Jan 2022 #60
Gorsuch and Herr Beer Pong should both be remote from the court. Leavenworth KS would be good IMO. Ford_Prefect Jan 2022 #61
Forget the political stuff questionseverything Jan 2022 #62
What a dick! Catherine Vincent Jan 2022 #63
How about interviews with his minister, teachers and neighbors about why he is a selfish jerk? lostnfound Jan 2022 #65
Gorsuck. area51 Jan 2022 #66
Absolutely gorsuch Rebl2 Jan 2022 #67
I just looked up Gorsuch because I couldn't remember when he was nominated. betsuni Jan 2022 #68
Yet Gorsuch ruled against a trucker who left his rig because he was freezing to death AdamGG Jan 2022 #73
May I say JudyM Jan 2022 #74
One piece of what's so shocking about Gorsuch's summer_in_TX Jan 2022 #75
Make Gorsuch do the hearings remotely rpannier Jan 2022 #78
+1 Celerity Jan 2022 #80
A Plague Rat in a robe. The Unmitigated Gall Jan 2022 #83

malaise

(268,997 posts)
55. This is way worse than that - this is a complete insult to the notion of
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 05:51 PM
Jan 2022

collegiality and basic decency.
I am still in shock about this one. What a thoughtless, classless asshole.

Polybius

(15,411 posts)
71. I don't think that's it
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 11:24 PM
Jan 2022

Gorsuch is an extreme anti-masker. I'm sure he'd do the same if it were Breyer who requested it.

NCjack

(10,279 posts)
82. Perhaps God will give Gorsuch the C-19, and he will pass it to Thomas, Bong-boy,
Wed Jan 19, 2022, 10:45 AM
Jan 2022

and Church Lady.

DownriverDem

(6,228 posts)
76. Anyone who thinks otherwise
Wed Jan 19, 2022, 08:50 AM
Jan 2022

is a repub. They are going to get all they want from the SC after decades of trying.

dem4decades

(11,289 posts)
81. They were lasered in trying to do that, and take over state legislatures, both which will end
Wed Jan 19, 2022, 10:39 AM
Jan 2022

the shitty democracy we had here. They located the faults in the system and exploited them, you have to give them credit, they out played us.

Traildogbob

(8,739 posts)
12. Gov Youngkin
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 12:53 PM
Jan 2022

Is the poster child. Mandated masks and vaccines at his child’s private school. Now virtual learning. But the people of Virginia, their children are as cared for as Paxton cares for seniors. Sacrificial for the economy. I guess the cult is all in, like the Jim Jones followers. Kill the kids, go to heaven. Pro life.

lastlib

(23,226 posts)
40. selfishness is their holy grail....
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 02:20 PM
Jan 2022

Remember John Kenneth Galbraith's quote that the modern conservative was engaged in a moral justification for selfishness. And, I might add, greed.

LetMyPeopleVote

(145,231 posts)
13. Opinion: Where was Justice Neil Gorsuch's mask?
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 12:55 PM
Jan 2022

Justice Sotomayor sits next to this asshole and had to do arguments remotely because this prick would not wear a mask. Justice Sotomayor is immunocompromised and this asshole knew this and refused to wear a mask. TFG picked some real assholes to be on the court




Where was Justice Neil M. Gorsuch’s mask? If you think this sounds like a trivial question, I dissent. I believe it goes to the heart of our fraying social fabric.

When the Supreme Court justices took their seats Friday morning to hear oral arguments in two cases challenging the Biden administration’s covid rules, seven of the justices wore masks — a change in their previous behavior prompted, no doubt, by the emergence of an new infectious strain.

One justice, Sonia Sotomayor, who had previously been the only justice to wear a mask on the bench, participated remotely from her chambers. Sotomayor has diabetes, which is a risk factor for more severe illness with covid. She also is, or would have been, Gorsuch’s seat mate for the nearly four-hour-long argument session.

The court, having resumed in-person arguments, retains strict limits on who can attend and strict rules for those allowed inside the chamber. Reporters and lawyers must wear masks — N95 masks, not the less-effective cloth variety — and test negative for covid. In fact, two of the lawyers who argued against the Biden administration’s vaccine mandates had to do so remotely after testing positive. And instead of being crammed cheek by jowl in the press section, reporters, along with the justices’ law clerks, are spaced throughout the otherwise-empty chamber......

No one is the boss of Justice Gorsuch. Like his colleagues, he had a choice about whether to wear a mask. Unlike them, he chose poorly.

CaptainTruth

(6,591 posts)
28. Ask the Republican party & their supporters. They have no sense of duty...
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 01:44 PM
Jan 2022

...to society as a whole, only their own personal greed.

GB_RN

(2,355 posts)
14. Imagine Being The Biggest Asshole In The Room...
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 01:01 PM
Jan 2022

When your competition is Scammy Alito, (In)Justice Rapey McBeerbong, Clarence "Uncle Slappy" Thomas, and Amy Covid Barrett. I mean, damn!

SKKY

(11,807 posts)
16. So, here is my question. If Gorsuch is the only one who refused...
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 01:04 PM
Jan 2022

...why isolate Sotomayor and not him? In my opinion, this doesn't speak well for the Chief Justice's leadership.

KS Toronado

(17,235 posts)
33. Because Rs stick together to own the libs.
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 01:58 PM
Jan 2022

He was attempting to make Sotomayor look small or not a team player. Backfired on him by
everyone with critical thinking skills.

Polybius

(15,411 posts)
72. Isolation is a choice
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 11:26 PM
Jan 2022

Roberts does not have to power to isolate anyone. Sotomayor chose to isolate, and Roberts granted it.

krkaufman

(13,435 posts)
20. Roberts' failure
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 01:13 PM
Jan 2022

Roberts’ failure is in leaving Sotomayor’s health to individual altruism. It’s almost like a mandate would be required to protect Sotomayor in her workplace.

GB_RN

(2,355 posts)
21. True.
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 01:24 PM
Jan 2022

He should have told Gore-suck to leave the room if he wasn't going to mask up, rather than force Sotomayor to be the one to leave.

Grossly inconsiderate of Roberts, but Gore-suck is still the biggest asshole in the room, and that's saying something when you look at his competition.

thesquanderer

(11,986 posts)
53. Gorsuch's behavior should be exhibit A in why mandates can be necessary,
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 05:45 PM
Jan 2022

as his own behavior provides the evidence to support what he would no doubt vote against.

People cannot be counted on to simply do the right thing. That's why there need to be laws in the first place.

calimary

(81,262 posts)
24. Gorsuch asshole.
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 01:32 PM
Jan 2022

The equal sign didn’t come through in the reply title space.

So I’ll say it again, in full, here:

Gorsuch = asshole.

Tommymac

(7,263 posts)
25. Robert's Legacy is fucked. And I know he cares about it too.
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 01:36 PM
Jan 2022

THAT is the message that we need to be sending his way every frigging day.

He cares greatly about his legacy from everything I've read about him over the years.

Unless the Authoritarians take total control and turn the US into a totalitarian nation that rewrites history wholesale, Robert's legacy is fubared for all eternity already.

TLP, MeidasTouch and other attack sites need to be directing this fact and as much ridicule and shame Robert's way just like they did to TFG in 2020. They need to but airtime in the DC market and show up Roberts as history will see him - a failed Chief Justice who is destroying the World's Hope for his selfish objectives.

70sEraVet

(3,501 posts)
27. If Roberts is concerned about his court's legacy -
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 01:40 PM
Jan 2022

that ship has not only sailed, it is caught on a right-wing tide.

usaf-vet

(6,186 posts)
31. Simple question why no make the A$$hole sit on the left or rightend of the bench.
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 01:49 PM
Jan 2022

Don't bother telling me it is a tradition the seating arrangement.

This court has already demonstrated that stare decisis can easily be broken if it suits the needs of this right-wing court.

I say F him if he doesn't like it let him throw a public temper tantrum.

Show the rest of the world who the spoiled brat in the room is.

turbinetree

(24,695 posts)
34. First Gorsuch should not be on the bench, second Gorsuch is pretty petty, I think he's doing it
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 01:59 PM
Jan 2022

because Sotomayor dissent comments she said about him on the abortion issue....

kacekwl

(7,017 posts)
35. Hey Roberts, ( I won't address you by justice you don't deserve it)
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 02:06 PM
Jan 2022

How does it feel to be disrespected by some petty underling ? Resign now please, save what little self respect you have left.

 

YP_Yooper

(291 posts)
37. WTF, from a ski merch family?
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 02:12 PM
Jan 2022

this ass is so happy coming from a family who literally sells masks in Vail, CO and won't wear one for his damn coworker?!?

The fourth-generation Coloradan is related to David Gorsuch, who started the Gorsuch luxury ski apparel company in Vail, Colo.
[link:https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-scotus-pick-neil-gorsuch-has-family-ties-to-luxe-ski-brand-165858544.html|



Jesus, can't make this shit up :/

Mr. Evil

(2,844 posts)
39. For SCJ Gorsuch:
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 02:16 PM
Jan 2022

Sir, you are no gentleman. OTOH, you ARE a worthless sack of dog shit! Go fuck yourself!

Pas-de-Calais

(9,904 posts)
46. Roberts doesn't care about nada
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 04:25 PM
Jan 2022

I knew he was going to be trouble the minute he was named back in the day.

Basta!!

And don’t even get me started in the final 3 nitwits who were seated

rpannier

(24,329 posts)
79. I agree
Wed Jan 19, 2022, 09:23 AM
Jan 2022

Gorsuch is not just putting one Justice at risk; Breyer, Thomas and Alito are all fairly old
Ought to be made mandatory. Option is to sit in your office and watch -- with your mic cut off

 

WillUSAF

(91 posts)
51. Gorsuch is an asshole
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 05:27 PM
Jan 2022

The Chief Justice should have made him stay in his chambers and reprimand him (not sure if that is a thing in SCOTUS?)

betsuni

(25,519 posts)
68. I just looked up Gorsuch because I couldn't remember when he was nominated.
Tue Jan 18, 2022, 09:44 PM
Jan 2022

After reading this thread saw "associate justice of the Supreme Court" as "asshole justice of the Supreme Court."

AdamGG

(1,291 posts)
73. Yet Gorsuch ruled against a trucker who left his rig because he was freezing to death
Wed Jan 19, 2022, 12:14 AM
Jan 2022

It's outrageous that 5 years later, Gorsuch is in office and Franken isn't.


JudyM

(29,241 posts)
74. May I say
Wed Jan 19, 2022, 12:17 AM
Jan 2022

I hope he gets it, gets it badly, and does not recover enough to sit on the bench. And that he brings down his brethren ilk with him.

summer_in_TX

(2,738 posts)
75. One piece of what's so shocking about Gorsuch's
Wed Jan 19, 2022, 12:50 AM
Jan 2022

behavior to me is that I alway understood that Christians believed they were their "brother's keeper," and tried to follow the Golden Rule.

But the prominence of their positions sure didn't cause him to try to represent the behaviors of a Christian.

Of course, I'm sure his version of Christianity is the country-club variety. Certainly not the kind that requires any trace of self-sacrifice for others.

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