Justice Samuel Alito skips State of the Union [Six of nine will attend]

Politico ^ | January 25, 2011 | Meredith Shiner

[Hawk720]

Six out of nine members of the Supreme Court will attend Tuesday night’s State of the Union, just one year after President Barack Obama openly chided the court for its Citizen’s United decision on campaign finance in the annual address.

The court did not make available the names of the justices who will attend, but Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. has a speaking engagement at the University of Hawaii law school, whose website is currently running an “Aloha Alito” slide show on its homepage.

Alito was at the center of the awkward and unusual 2010 exchange with the president during last year’s address. When Obama challenged the decision of the majority of justices in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case, which lifted many of the restrictions on corporate giving to federal campaigns, cameras in the chamber caught Alito mouthing the words “not true” in response to Obama’s critique.

The other likely no-shows are justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, who rarely attend the speech.

[RightOnTheBorder]

I’d say his viable competition WAS eliminated when the media and the Rinos saddled us with McCain.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

BTTT