Marsha Blackburn Questions Law Professor on 'Evil' Supreme Court Justices Comment

Judiciary Committee Hearing Exchange

• 📌 Senator Marsha Blackburn questioned law professor Kate Shaw regarding her use of the term 'evil colleagues' to describe conservative Supreme Court justices on her podcast, 'Strict Scrutiny'.
• 🗣️ Shaw stated she would need to review the transcript but suggested her comments stemmed from a concern about the 'dismissive approach to sex equality arguments' in a specific case.

Podcast Comments and Justice Alito

• 🎙️ Blackburn pressed Shaw on her podcast comments, specifically referencing a remark about Justice Alito being an 'abject misogynist'.
• 🤷 Shaw did not recall the specific comment about Justice Alito but acknowledged that the podcast frequently critiques Supreme Court justices' writings.
• ⚖️ Shaw admitted that the podcast 'frequently demonstrate[s] a lack of respect' for the writings of Supreme Court justices.

Protecting Supreme Court Justices Act

• 🏛️ Senator Blackburn introduced a bill, the Protecting Our Supreme Court Justices Act, which would increase penalties for protesting outside justices' residences.
• 📜 The bill aims to increase the maximum imprisonment for violations of Section 1507 from one year to five years to deter intimidation.
• 📝 Professor Shaw expressed the need to carefully scrutinize any law impacting First Amendment conduct and stated she was not prepared to take a position without further review.
• 🛡️ Shaw affirmed support for increasing penalties for violence against justices.
• 🚨 Other professors on the panel acknowledged the seriousness of threats against justices, referencing an attempted threat against Justice Kavanaugh.