Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

malaise

(269,172 posts)
Wed Feb 17, 2016, 04:51 PM Feb 2016

Justices skipping the State of the Union since 2010

Note Scalia missed #20 this year.
2016
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/three-conservative-supreme-court-justices-skip-state-of-the-union-2016/
<snip>
Three conservative justices on the Supreme Court were noticeably absent from President Obama's final State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Antonin Scalia were not present in the House chamber as the rest of their colleagues filed in.

The trio also skipped the president's address last year and Scalia has missed the State of the Union more than a dozen times. In 2013, Scalia called the event "a childish spectacle."

On Tuesday, Chief Justices John Roberts attended Mr. Obama's final address as did Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer

2015

The wording in the Constitution is simple and straightforward: the President “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.” There’s nothing in there about the Supreme Court justices and, accordingly, there’s nothing simple and straightforward about their attendance.

This year, six justices were in attendance, while three of the most conservative members of the court, Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, were noticeably absent. In the modern era, custom has held that the justices would show up in their official robes and sit impassively. But in recent years, they’ve become more resistant to the tradition.

Justice Antonin Scalia’s absence is no surprise. It was the 19th State of the Union in a row that he’s skipped since he considers the speech a “childish spectacle.”

2014

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/scotus-sotu

Four Supreme Court justices did not attend President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday.

Justices Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotamayor were not in attendance for the speech.

Sotomayor is traveling -- she was in California on Monday judging moot court finals at the University of California Irvine Law School.

Scalia, Alito and Thomas have all skipped past State of the Union address and objected to attending the speech.

Scalia skipped the address for the 17th year in a row. Last year he called the State of the Union a "childish spectacle."

Alito in 2010 whispered "not true" when Obama criticized the Supreme Court's Citizen's United v. FEC decision, and the justice later he did not enjoy sitting "like the proverbial potted plant" during the speech.

Thomas said in 2012 that he does not attend the address because "it has become so partisan and it's very uncomfortable for a judge to sit there."

------------------------------
Question - did Alito and Thomas attend all SOUs with ReTHUG Presidents?

4 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Justices skipping the State of the Union since 2010 (Original Post) malaise Feb 2016 OP
Keep this little factoid in mind gratuitous Feb 2016 #1
That's why I posted this thread malaise Feb 2016 #2
It would be unpossible for Clarence Thomas to attend without Scalia Brother Buzz Feb 2016 #3
Then it's 4-3 malaise Feb 2016 #4

gratuitous

(82,849 posts)
1. Keep this little factoid in mind
Wed Feb 17, 2016, 05:01 PM
Feb 2016

I saw earlier today that President Obama said he would not attend Scalia's funeral on Saturday. Of course, no matter what he did, Obama would get a raft of shit from the usual quarters. But be ready to say that Obama might have been a little more willing to get to Scalia's service if Scalia could have made a little time for him.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Justices skipping the Sta...