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Supreme Court justices’ questions at oral arguments can help illuminate their thinking in a given case. So we’ll be listening closely Thursday to hear what’s on the justices’ minds in Trump v. Anderson, the historic dispute over Donald Trump’s presidential eligibility.
There’s no shortage of issues to address on the merits of the 14th Amendment appeal, but an overarching query is whether Trump himself would accept — and encourage his supporters to accept — a high court ruling that disqualifies him from office. It’s not an unreasonable concern, given, among other things, the backdrop of the Jan. 6 insurrection that prompted the legal effort to keep him off the ballot.
And the perfect justice to pose this simple inquiry to Trump’s counsel?
None other than Samuel Alito.
Recall that during litigation over the mifepristone abortion pill last year, he lamented in a written opinion that “the Government has not dispelled legitimate doubts that it would even obey an unfavorable order in these cases.” Putting to the side for a moment the legitimacy of his doubts in that case, it’s clear that the justice is worried about parties abiding by court orders in highly important matters.
Alito can display that stated institutional concern on Thursday as well, lest the public get the impression that his worry only runs one way politically.
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