Decide Michael Ponsor, a sitting federal decide appointed by Invoice Clinton, weighed in on the upside-down flag flying at Justice Samuel Alito’s house in an op-ed for The New York Instances on Friday, and mentioned it was unethical.
“Regardless of its legality, displaying the flag in that way, at that time, shouldn’t have happened. To put it bluntly, any judge with reasonable ethical instincts would have realized immediately that flying the flag then and in that way was improper. And dumb,” Ponsor mentioned.
An upside-down American flag, an emblem utilized by Donald Trump supporters who declare President Biden didn’t win the 2020 election, was seen flying at Alito’s house within the weeks following the Jan. 6 riot, the New York Instances first reported.
“Courts work because people trust judges. Taking sides in this way erodes that trust,” Ponsor, a senior decide on the U.S. District Courtroom for the District of Massachusetts, continued, criticizing the Supreme Courtroom.
Alito beforehand advised Fox Information that his spouse was the one who hung the flag in response to insults from a neighbor.
“You just don’t do that sort of thing, whether it may be considered over the line, or just edging up to the margin. Flying those flags was tantamount to sticking a ‘Stop the steal’ bumper sticker on your car. You just don’t do it,” Ponsor wrote.
Ponsor additionally weighed in on the truth that it was Alito’s spouse who raised the flag.
“Being a judge’s spouse is not easy. On the one hand, a person should not have to forfeit the right to free expression at the marriage altar. On the other hand, it is not unreasonable to expect a spouse to avoid embarrassing a loved one or complicating his or her professional life,” Ponsor continued.
One other image carried by Trump supporters, an “Appeal to Heaven” flag, was seen flying at a seashore house owned by Alito in New Jersey, the Instances reported days later. The flag, often known as the Pine Tree flag, dates again to the Revolutionary Conflict and can be related to wanting a Christian authorities, in response to the New York Instances.
“Basic ethical behavior should not rely on laws or regulations. It should be folded into a judge’s DNA. That didn’t happen here. The flag display may or may not have been unlawful, but as far as the public’s perception of the court’s integrity, it certainly was not helpful,” Ponsor wrote.
Ponsor beforehand criticized the Supreme Courtroom in a New York Instances op-ed in July 2023 as a federal decide. He questioned their ethics requirements and referred to as the justices to determine a “a formal ethical apparatus.”
One other sitting federal decide, Reggie Walton, has criticized the previous president on CNN. Former Supreme Courtroom Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg additionally commonly hit Trump whereas he was a presidential candidate, as a sitting justice.
“He is a faker,” Ginsburg mentioned in 2016, in response to CNN. “He has no consistency about him. He says whatever comes into his head at the moment. He really has an ego… How has he gotten away with not turning over his tax returns? The press seems to be very gentle with him on that.”
Alito is dealing with a number of calls to recuse himself from Trump-related instances over the flag controversy from members of the media, in addition to Democratic lawmakers.
