SCOTUS anti mask tension

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Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has refused to wear a mask during in-person proceedings, despite a request from Chief Justice John Roberts for all members of the high court to accommodate Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s concerns about Covid-19, according to a new report Tuesday.

Gorsuch’s continued defiance has led Sotomayor — who has diabetes and is therefore at a higher risk of serious illness from Covid — to attend oral arguments remotely, according to veteran NPR Supreme Court reporter Nina Totenberg, citing court sources.

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has refused to wear a mask during in-person proceedings, despite a request from Chief Justice John Roberts for all members of the high court to accommodate Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s concerns about Covid-19, according to a new report Tuesday.

Gorsuch’s continued defiance has led Sotomayor — who has diabetes and is therefore at a higher risk of serious illness from Covid — to attend oral arguments remotely, according to veteran NPR Supreme Court reporter Nina Totenberg, citing court sources.

All nine justices have been vaccinated and received boosters for Covid.

Gorsuch sits next to Sotomayor on the bench. He has also refused to wear a mask during the justices’ weekly conferences, leading the 67-year-old Sotomayor to attend by telephone.

Last week, Gorsuch was the only justice in the courtroom not to wear a mask during oral arguments, while Sotomayor and Justice Stephen Breyer both appeared remotely. Breyer, at 83 the oldest member of the court, stayed out of the courtroom after a spokesperson said he received the results of a Covid test that was later determined to be a false positive.

Roberts “in some form” then asked the other justices to wear masks, Totenberg reported. Gorsuch, one of three justices nominated by former President Donald Trump, was the only one to refuse.

The court did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on NPR’s report. All nine justices have been vaccinated and received boosters for Covid.

Gorsuch sits next to Sotomayor on the bench. He has also refused to wear a mask during the justices’ weekly conferences, leading the 67-year-old Sotomayor to attend by telephone.

Last week, Gorsuch was the only justice in the courtroom not to wear a mask during oral arguments, while Sotomayor and Justice Stephen Breyer both appeared remotely. Breyer, at 83 the oldest member of the court, stayed out of the courtroom after a spokesperson said he received the results of a Covid test that was later determined to be a false positive.

Oh look, it appears the story was fake:

https://www.mediaite.com/news/justice-s ... te-report/

I apologize for posting it.

No worries, happens to the best of us these days with all the fake stories flying around.

I read the story and can't help but think this whole thing seems to turn on questions of precise wording, and the possibility of someone either misspeaking or being misunderstood. Precise wording is everything in the law, but less so in journalism.

How much precision do you need when all three principals of the story are on the record saying it didn't happen that way? Getting it wrong initially is one thing, it's the doubling down that kills me.