Smith in Bloomberg News over Alito Comments

St. Louis Partner Barbara Smith, co-chair of BCLP’s Appellate & Supreme Court Group, was quoted Nov. 13 by Bloomberg Law News regarding public remarks made at a Federalist Society event by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Justice Alito denounced recent public attacks on the court’s integrity, and also addressed legal controversies regarding religious liberty, free speech rights, and other constitutional questions about which he had previously written in published opinions. Justice Alito’s remarks drew criticism in some circles from legal academics and practitioners who questioned the propriety of a sitting justice commenting on legal issues that have previously, and may again, come before the Supreme Court. Smith, who formerly clerked for Justice Alito, defended his comments, and noted that he “spoke movingly about the importance of fundamental constitutional rights – religious liberty and speech – that are all too often under attack in our modern discourse.” She said that Alito “implored lawyers to be vigilant in guarding these liberties and in protecting those in our society who are marginalized and unpopular because of their viewpoint or religion.”