Supreme Court Justices Make Rare Public Appearances In Pandemic

Two Supreme Court justices appeared in public this week in the kind of sightings that have become rare since the Covid-19 pandemic forced them to end the term while working remotely.

Stephen Breyer attended the American Bar Association’s first virtual annual meeting on Wednesday. In an interview with ABA President Judy Perry Martinez, the 81-year-old justice discussed everything from his fifth grade social studies assignment to criticism of the court to the resilience of the American people.

“It’s a miracle this country has survived, but it has!” Breyer said.

It wasn’t Breyer’s first virtual appearance during the pandemic. In April, he spoke with students from the United Nations International School.

His remote appearance came two days after Justice Sonia Sotomayor visited the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in person to pay respects to civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who died July 17. Sotomayor wore a mask during her visit.

The other justice to venture into the public eye is Chief Justice John Roberts, who recorded remarks for his son’s high school graduating class in May.

Appearing from the Supreme Court building, Roberts quipped that one of the silver linings of the pandemic was that the students had “the luxury of fast forward buttons right in front of you.”