Conservatives HOPPING MAD Over Justice Jackson’s Broadway Cameo

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who once out-acted Matt Damon, took a turn on Broadway recently, with a one-time cameo in &Juliet.

And conservatives are very, very mad about it.

Look, there’s an argument to be had that the justices should not stray into becoming fixtures of popular culture — indeed there’s a plausible claim that Justice Ginsburg’s refusal to retire was fueled in part by support she cultivated as pop icon “Notorious RBG.” And there’s a solid counterargument that figures holding the sort of power Supreme Court justices wield over policy should be more accessible than a cloistered aristocracy nixing constitutional rights from on high. Either way, a one-off appearance in a show is hardly moving any needles.

But Carrie Severino of the Concord Fund — the entity formerly known as the Judicial Crisis Network — is not pleased AT ALL.

It’s a real mystery why Broadway might not be as chummy with people dedicated to making life more miserable for women and gay people.

But also… are the conservative justices not interested in being popular icons? Sam Alito went out and got people to knight him. Neil Gorsuch spent his Federalist Society speech pining for a social media squirrel. And conservatives generally love tying themselves to more liberal colleagues to bask in reflected popularity. It seems like they are desperately thirsty for popularity — especially in the form of rock star status at Federalist Society events.

Just because they aren’t courting the same audiences doesn’t mean they aren’t just as obsessed with being popular. And this rant from a former Thomas clerk carries (pun) a whole lot of “I’m not mad, please don’t put in the newspaper that I got mad” energy on behalf of justices who really want to be in the next revival of A Man for All Seasons starring Kevin Sorbo or whatever.

“Queer Broadway musicals.” There we go! It’s refreshing when the bigots say the quiet part out loud, isn’t it?

Also what’s this “barely leave their homes” noise? Thomas and Alito don’t seem to have any problems leaving the house if someone else is paying! Thomas is even willing to take a loan — possibly a fully forgiven one — for a mobile home from an interested executive if the circumstances present themselves. He drives that thing all over the country!

Hemmingway’s article notes that people occasionally protest conservative judges. In particular, Mollie points to protests at the Capitol over Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation while conspicuously avoiding any allusion to the whole “attempted rape” part of those hearings. That seems like it would be a significant caveat!

Not that it’s slowed him down. Kavanaugh and Gorsuch took (arguably) less problematic luxury trips on ASS Law’s dime.

And according to Times reporting about Gorsuch’s junket (summarized by Business Insider) the justices have a lovely time on these trips.

• Gorsuch was hosted in an “aristocratic” old-town apartment in Padua at the school’s expense in 2018.
• He was flown there at a cost of $3,771.
• Gorsuch was asked to help pick which Italian city would host his teaching trip.
• He only had to teach in the mornings.
• Gorsuch’s accommodation in Iceland in 2021 cost $5,250.

These teaching trips aren’t solely the province of conservative justices — Justice Kagan joined Gorsuch on his Iceland trip — but it does go a long way toward dispelling the abject nonsense claim that the Court’s right wing “can barely leave their homes.”

But the key to running a judicial crisis network is pretending that there is, in fact, a judicial “crisis” all the time. And it’s all about how everyone doesn’t like them… nature’s perfect snowflakes.

---

Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.