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Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito received a standing ovation at a Federalist Society event this week over his opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.
Alito received praise from the audience after Stephen Markman, a former justice on the Michigan Supreme Court, declared the opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is an “indelible part” of the justice’s legacy.
“The Dobbs decision will forever be an indelible part of Justice Alito’s legacy,” said Markman. “I do not know of any decision on any court by any judge of which that judge could be more proud.”
The leak of Alito’s opinion sparked outrage and mass protests, including one group attempting to publish the addresses of conservative Justices. A man was also arrested outside the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh for allegedly threatening to assassinate him.
Thursday night’s event marked the first annual meeting of the Federalist Society since the Dobbs decision. Justice Amy Coney Barrett also spoke and joked about the protests the judges have faced since the
“It’s really nice to have a lot of noise made not by protesters outside of my house,” she said.
Justices Neil Gorsuch and Kavanaugh also attended the event, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Federalist Society. Send. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) were among those in attendance.
Politico reported the event was under “unusual secrecy and unprecedented security.”
From Politico:
Due to those concerns, the gathering Thursday took place under unusual secrecy and unprecedented security. The program for the dinner was not announced in advance, even though individual justices have served as keynote speakers in past years.Plainclothes police shadowed the justices, uniformed police were stationed around the perimeter of the event and Supreme Court police armed with assault rifles stood near journalists on a balcony overlooking the hall.