The Supreme Court stated that Justice Samuel Alito’s verbal reaction to Justice Sonia Sotomayor was based on a ‘misunderstanding’ by the conservative justice. This rare statement came a day after a tense back-and-forth between the two justices when Sotomayor publicly read a dissent in a case involving asylum claims.
Background
Alito, who authored three of the four opinions released Thursday, suggested at the time that he didn’t realize Sotomayor would read her dissent verbally. Verbal dissents are rare and usually underscore a justice’s strong disagreement with the majority’s opinion.
The case in question dealt with a policy of turning asylum seekers away at the border, which the conservative majority approved in a 6-3 decision. The exchange between Alito and Sotomayor came amid signs of strife behind the curtain of the high court as it veers toward its final days of the current term juggling a number of cases involving President Donald Trump and culture war issues.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
