Dissension at the Supreme Court as justices take their anger public

Supreme Court justices have revealed a new level of defensiveness and anger in recent weeks, showing irritation with public expectations, the news media and one another.

The extraordinary public display extends beyond any single justice or case, although the majority’s decision to let a Texas near-ban on abortions take effect has plainly triggered much of the consternation.

On Thursday, Samuel Alito became the fifth of the nine justices to speak out, denouncing critics he said were seeking to portray the court as “sneaky” and “sinister” in an attempt “to intimidate” the justices.

Alito told a Notre Dame Law School audience that the court has been wrongly cast as “a dangerous cabal … deciding important issues in a novel, secretive, improper way, in the middle of the night.”

Rarely have so many justices uttered such provocative, off-the-bench comments at the same time.

Conservatives have tried to minimize the significance of their rulings and suggested they are merely responding to cases that come their way. But as the right-wing majority — now with three Donald Trump appointees — has moved aggressively, liberals have not kept their despondency quiet.

“There is going to be a lot of disappointment in the law, a huge amount,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned in a speech Wednesday.

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