To the editor: It’s interesting that while Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Robert Jr. sees the impropriety of speaking only with Democratic senators to discuss an ethics code for justices, he seems to overlook the impropriety of justices flying insurrectionist-related flags or accepting valuable gifts from Republican billionaires who have a stake in cases before the court. (“Roberts rejects Senate Democrats’ request to discuss Supreme Court ethics, Alito controversy,” May 30)
If partisanship blinds the justices to right and wrong, then perhaps the real issue is one of competency — of having the necessary foundational skills to rise above personal preferences.
Pamela Kelly, Long Beach
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To the editor: The year was 1968, a tumultuous one for our nation. I was 11, living in a small town in Nebraska and becoming politically aware.
My father was an ardent supporter of Hubert Humphrey for president. Noticing the proliferation of political signs in the neighborhood, I asked him why we couldn’t have a Humphrey sign in our front yard. My dad, a longtime civil servant, said this to me:
“I work for the federal government. If we put a sign in our yard, people who come to see me at work might not think that I could be fair with them because I voted for Humphrey. It’s important, because I don’t work for a political party, I work for the people and they need to trust that I’m being fair to them.”
That story stayed with me and guided my own actions as a city and state employee. It’s a pity that Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. does not understand what a mid-level civil servant did about professional ethics and the appearance of bias.
James Buglewicz, Los Angeles
