1. United States
2. Md.
3. Letter

Treat the disbarment filing and criminal referral against Samuel Alito the same way you would treat any complaint against any attorney in New Jersey. A sitting Supreme Court justice holds a law license like everyone else, and that license comes with the same ethical obligations. The bribery allegations are serious enough that a lawyer has already submitted a formal criminal referral under New Jersey law. That process deserves to run its full course without interference. The DOJ is reportedly trying to block lawyer accountability bodies from treating judicial misconduct as misconduct at all. That cannot stand. If Alito violated the rules that govern every other attorney in this country, the consequences should follow. The integrity of the Court depends on justices being held to a higher standard, not exempted from the standard entirely. If the evidence supports the charges, he should face disbarment and whatever criminal penalties apply — the same outcome any other lawyer would face.