Presence of All Six Conservative Justices at State Dinner for King Charles Raises Eyebrows

The attendance at the state dinner for King Charles III and Queen Camilla — and in white tie finery — of all six of the Supreme Court’s conservative justices and their spouses has precipitated paroxysms on the left — but is it a breach of tradition?Most striking was the presence of every justice who leans right and none of the court’s left wing. Not yet known is if Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson were invited and declined or failed to make the invite list. The six justices who did attend, along with their spouses, made up nearly 10 percent of the total assembly of some 130 people, nearly all of them in the conservative orbit.One liberal lion, the retired justice Stephen Breyer, was spotted in the House Chamber for the king’s address to a joint session of Congress. Justice Breyer, who shook the king’s hand, attended Oxford, and is married to the daughter of a viscount, served on the high court for some 28 years, attended a state dinner in honor of President Hu Jintao in 2011 and a 2022 banquet in honor of French President Emmanuel Macron. Justice Antonin Scalia was a guest of President Obama’s at the 2012 fete for Prime Minister David Cameron.Usually one Supreme Court attends state dinners rather than a whole cadre. At Mr. Trump’s first, in 2018 — also in honor of Mr. Macron — Chief Justice Roberts was the sole member of the Nine in attendance. The justices’ Code of Conduct written by the chief in 2023 mandates that members of the court “act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary” and should not “knowingly convey or permit others to convey the impression that they are in a special position to influence the Justice.”The justices are also discouraged in that same code from participating in “extrajudicial activities” that “reflect adversely on the Justice’s impartiality.” In 2018, Chief Justice Roberts declared that “We do not sit on opposite sides of an aisle. We do not caucus in separate rooms. We do not serve one party or one interest. We serve one nation.” During his confirmation hearings he likened justices to “umpires,” callers of balls and strikes. One liberal law professor, Steven Vladeck, told MS NOW after the dinner with the British monarch that “The problem here is the symbolism, that these six justices — and only these six — were there. It does nothing to disabuse the appearance that the court is playing partisan political favorites, an impression this court should be invested in avoiding.”Mr. Trump has hardly been sparing in his criticism of the court, and even of its conservative members. After the justices ruled against a large swath of his tariff program in February, he called Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett “an embarrassment to their families.” He lashed the court as a whole as “disgrace to our nation” and “lap dogs.” In April, Mr. Trump posted to Truth Social that “certain ‘Republican’ Justices have just gone weak, stupid, and bad, completely violating what they ‘supposedly’ stood for.”The question of the court’s composition is emerging as a subject of conversation ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, when Democrats could seize the Senate and potentially block the appointment of new justices, to whom the Constitution grants lifetime tenure. Speculation has swirled around the futures of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, who are 77 and 76 years old, respectively. Neither has indicated retirement.The king concluded his toast at the event by thanking Mr. Trump for a “wonderful dinner” — and added that it was “a considerable improvement on the Boston Tea Party.” The king concluded his toast at the event by thanking Mr. Trump for a “wonderful dinner” — and added that it was “a considerable improvement on the Boston Tea Party.” The king also quipped that “You recently commented, Mr. President, that if it were not for the United States, European countries would be speaking German. Dare I say that, if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French.”

Presence of All Six Conservative Justices at State Dinner for King Charles Raises Eyebrows

Presence of All Six Conservative Justices at State Dinner for King Charles Raises Eyebrows

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