KBJ Enjoys Stage. Conservative Justices Can Barely Leave Home

Critics are making fun of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson for her “cringe” special appearance on Saturday in a bit part of a queer-themed Broadway musical. The popular show, which imagines what would have happened if Juliet had not killed herself over Romeo, has been nominated for nine Tony awards.

In promotional material for the appearance, Jackson highlighted a curious and confusing claim from a “supplemental” application essay to Harvard University that she wanted to attend there in order “to fulfill my fantasy of becoming the first Black, female Supreme Court justice to appear on a Broadway stage.” No matter how outlandish the claim is, she accomplished her mission of being a Supreme Court justice and appearing on Broadway.

Jackson, known for being far and away the most loquacious justice during oral arguments, has only been on the court for two terms and has not yet made much of a mark with her rulings or dissents. During her confirmation proceedings, Jackson claimed she didn’t know what a woman was because she was not a “biologist.” Known for her outcome-based jurisprudence in support of abortion on demand, she also strongly supports institutional racism. She complains that the First Amendment is “hamstringing” the government’s censorship efforts.

Still, it’s nice that Jackson can appear on Broadway to rapturous applause from left-wing audiences. It’s a notable contrast to her conservative colleagues on the court, who remain under constant threats to their physical safety from left-wing activists.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer famously took to the steps of the Supreme Court itself to threaten violence against Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh if they didn’t rule on a case the way he wanted to. During the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, mobs took over Capitol rooms and buildings and pounded on the doors to the Supreme Court shouting, “Burn it to the ground!”

Prior to the release of the Dobbs decision, which returned abortion law to the people and their legislatures, an anonymous affiliate of the court leaked the decision, creating an incentive for assassination. Had any of the justices who signed onto the decision been killed before it was officially released, it would have prevented the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Left-wing activist groups posted the private addresses of justices’ homes and offered financial incentives for sightings of the justices in public. If the information were given to the mobs in time for them to show up and harass the justice, the financial incentive quadrupled. Although federal law prohibits demonstrating in front of a justice’s home in order to influence a decision, President Biden and his Attorney General Merrick Garland gave the protests a green light and claimed there was nothing they could do.

Some justices had to wear bulletproof vests to protect themselves from assassination attempts by left-wing activists. One such attempted assassin used the information posted online by pro-abortion activists to fly across the country and locate the home where Kavanaugh lives with his wife and children. He was stopped before he could kill the Kavanaugh family.

In September, an Alaska man with a history of political donations to Democrat causes was arrested for threatening six Supreme Court justices. Six justices on the court were nominated by a Republican president.

Elite law schools roll out the red carpet for left-wing justices, while those nominated by Republican presidents are either not invited or have to be quietly brought in to speak in private environments or eat their meals off campus so as not to be mobbed by the left-wing activists that dominate law schools. Notre Dame Law School is the rare exception to this, having made news by inviting both Democrat-nominated and Republican-nominated justices. Federal judges who fail to adopt the radical political views of these students find themselves attacked.

All of which to say, again, it is very nice that Jackson gets to fulfill her dream and appear on Broadway. Conservative justices might like to fulfill much smaller dreams — such as going for a walk with their children, or out to dinner with their spouse, or to the grocery store alone to pick up some food — without facing mobs of activists who seek their harm.