Judge's criticism of US Supreme Court's Alito over flags is deemed improper

[In It to Win It]

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/judges-criticism-us-supreme-courts-alito-over-flags-is-deemed-improper-2024-12-17/

BOSTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - A federal judge violated judicial ethics rules by publishing an essay in the New York Times criticizing conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for allowing provocative flags including an upside-down American flag to fly outside his houses, according to an order made public on Tuesday.

Senior U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor in Springfield, Massachusetts, wrote in his May 24, 2024, essay that any judge with reasonable ethical instincts would have realized that flying a flag then and in that way be "improper" and "dumb."

His essay followed a pair of reports in the newspaper about Alito's Virginia residence and New Jersey vacation home having displayed flags like those carried by some of Republican President-elect Donald Trump's supporters during the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.

The essay prompted a judicial misconduct complaint to be filed by the Article III Project, a conservative advocacy group run by Trump ally Mike Davis, alleging that it was Ponsor, an appointee of Democratic former President Bill Clinton, who was the one violating ethics standards.

[Hekate]

1. The Skeezy Six really do believe they are above the Law

[Skittles]

2. so.....it's OK for Alito to fly controversial flags

but.........it is improper to criticize him for doing so?

[benfranklin1776]

5. Upside down "ethics" indeed.

Alito’s blatantly unethical conduct is wholly ignored and unpunished while this Judge’s rightful condemnation of its impropriety gets punished. Orwellian “justice” that reeks of “royal prerogative” the repellent ideology our democracy was specifically constructed to repudiate.

[mwooldri]

7. That's why I've been calling it

The Imperial Supreme Court. ISCOTUS.

[benfranklin1776]

10. Quite apropos!

And quite tragic that it is. Definitely its expansion needs to be near the top of the agenda when we regain a Congressional majority.

[malaise]

8. Apparently

Up is down

[pfitz59]

3. Vile and rotten

Corrupt as the day is long.

[KS Toronado]

4. So now Judge Michael Ponsor has no 1st amendment rights?????

Meanwhile the SCOTUS has no judicial ethics rules that they follow, 6 of them anyway.

[SunSeeker]

6. The SCROTUS 6 violate ethics rules with impunity, but it's an ethical violation for lower court judges to say so.

[LeftInTX]

9. If we ever get a Dem president and senate again, appoint this judge to SCOTUS!

[sinkingfeeling]

11. Oh, look, some judges have ethics rules. Just not the SCOTUS.