Diabetic liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch jointly denied on Wednesday that Sotomayor had asked Gorsuch to put a mask on.
On Tuesday it was reported that Gorsuch was refusing to wear a mask despite pleas from Chief Justice John Roberts on behalf of Sotomayor, who did not feel comfortable around anyone unmasked and thus was working virtually.
‘Reporting that Justice Sotomayor asked Justice Gorsuch to wear a mask surprised us. It is false,’ the pair of justices said in a statement. ‘While we sometimes disagree about the law, we are warm colleagues and friends.’
And later, Roberts put out his own statement denying he asked any justice to wear a mask. ‘I did not request Justice Gorsuch or any other justice to wear a mask on the bench’ he said.
Justices are known to place great importance on presenting a civil and non-partisan front to the public. Mask-wearing has become a political landmine in the U.S.
Last fall, amid a decline in Covid-19 cases, the court resumed in-person arguments for the first time, and none chose to wear a mask except Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who is 67 and has diabetes.
But earlier this month when the court returned to the bench following the Omicron surge over the holidays, Sotomayor made it clear she did not feel safe in close proximity with the others unless they were masked, according to NPR.
Roberts then reportedly asked the other justices to mask up so that Sotomayor could return, but Gorsuch, who sits directly next to her, remained obstinate. Sotomayor has thus continued to join court business by phone and has not stepped back into the court.
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch has reportedly refused to wear a mask in court despite pleas from Chief Justice John Roberts
A masked-up Justice Sonya Sotomayor is pictured above
But earlier this month when the court returned to the bench following the Omicron surge over the holidays, Sotomayor made it clear she did…