In A Scathing Report, It Has Been Revealed That Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch Refused A Request From The Chief Justice To Wear A Mask

It was reported earlier today by ConservativeBrief that Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch apparently refused a request by Chief Justice John Roberts to wear a mask when the court is in session, in deference to liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who is diabetic.

According to NPR’s Nina Totenberg:

It was pretty jarring earlier this month when the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court took the bench for the first time since the omicron surge over the holidays. All were now wearing masks. All, that is, except Justice Neil Gorsuch. What’s more, Justice Sonia Sotomayor was not there at all, choosing instead to participate through a microphone set up in her chambers.

Sotomayor has diabetes, a condition that puts her at high risk for serious illness, or even death, from COVID-19. She has been the only justice to wear a mask on the bench since last fall when, amid a marked decline in COVID-19 cases, the justices resumed in-person arguments for the first time since the onset of the pandemic.

Now, though, the situation had changed with the omicron surge, and according to court sources, Sotomayor did not feel safe in close proximity to people who were unmasked. Chief Justice John Roberts, understanding that in some form asked the other justices to mask up.

They all did. Except for Gorsuch, who, as it happens, sits next to Sotomayor on the bench. His continued refusal since then has also meant that Sotomayor has not attended the justices’ weekly conference in person, joining instead by telephone.

Pandemic guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that either type of diabetes (and other preexisting conditions) makes the sufferer more susceptible to becoming severely ill from COVID-19.

“[Gorsuch’s] continued refusal since then has also meant that Sotomayor has not attended the justices’ weekly conference in person, joining instead by telephone,” Totenberg, who has long covered the high court for the taxpayer-supported media outlet, added.