OPINION:
As a member of the Supreme Court Bar, I had the privilege last week to sit in the front section, reserved for bar members, during the oral argument challenging President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship (“WATCH: Supreme Court justices skeptical of Trump’s birthright citizenship order,” Web, April 1).
Mr. Trump sat a few rows behind me in the first row of the public section. Although his presence was a first for a sitting president, it was understandable given that he was a party to the case.
More surprising was seeing actor Robert De Niro, a strident Trump critic, sitting a few feet away, to the right, in prime seating reserved for the justices’ families and guests.
So which liberal justice thought it was appropriate to invite such a visible Trump critic as his or her special guest to this high-profile case? If Justice Clarence Thomas or Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. had invited a prominent Trump supporter, such as Sean Hannity, to sit there, then there would have been immediate calls for that justice’s recusal for appearances of bias.
PAUL KAMENAR
Counsel, National Legal and Policy Center
Chevy Chase, Maryland
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