Crossing the Line

 "Saying or implying that the court is becoming an illegitimate institution or questioning our integrity crosses an important line."  --Justice Samuel Alito 

Let's make something perfectly clear here.  Justice Alito works for me.  And you.  He does not work for the one-sided political interests he seems bent on representing on the court, he works for the people.  We have the right to determine what we consider to be integrity from the justices and we have the right to determine whether the current practices of a government institution contribute to its legitimacy, or take away from it.  The justice's job is to rule according to the law, the way it is written.  

We, the people, have not crossed any line.  But there are justices on the court now who most definitely have crossed lines, plenty of them.  They've called their integrity into question, ignored hundreds of years of court tradition stepping into partisan politics and then had the audacity to criticize the people who noticed and called it out.  At least, some of them did.  

Someone of Justice Alito's stature and reputation in the legal and judicial community ought to know better than to criticize the people for holding the court accountable.  He's in the wrong job if he's going to criticize public opinion.  That's for someone holing up as a law clerk in a windowless office somewhere, not in a courtroom that is open to the public.  There are many Americans who have a much better understanding and knowledge of the Constitution than some Supreme Court justices do, and those who go down in history as being respected for their honesty, integrity and are evaluated as successful in their work are the ones who acknowledge this fact, and show respect for its truthfulness. 

What I'm hearing from Justice Alito's whining about being criticized is the clear message that his retirement date should be imminent.  His chances of being remembered and revered as one of the better justices to serve have been gone for a long time and this sharp edge of frustration in his temperament won't improve his image one bit.  He's a good seven years past prime retirement age, he's never really been known for legal or judiciary brilliance or for being particularly articulate.  Now would be an excellent time to find a replacement for him.