Supreme Court Asks Maryland, Virginia Governors to End Picketing Outside Justices' Homes
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Nathan Howard/Getty Protesters pass Chief Justice John Roberts house on June 8, 2022 in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Less than two weeks after the Supreme Court announced their decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, SCOTUS Marshal Gail Curley is asking state governors to step in and stop the picketing outside of justices' homes.
Curley sent letters to officials in Maryland and Virginia over the weekend calling on them to "enforce" state and local laws that "prohibit picketing outside of the homes of Supreme Court Justices," NPR reported.
In a letter to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Curley referred to one instance "earlier this week" where "at least 30 protesters gathered outside one Justice's Fairfax County home chanting expletives, and dozens appeared outside another's Fairfax County home chanting 'no privacy for us, no peace for you,'" Bloomberg reported.
Elsewhere in the letter she wrote, "for weeks on end, large groups of protesters chanting slogans, using bullhorns, and banging drums have picketed Justices' homes in Virginia," according to NPR. "This is exactly the kind of conduct that Virginia law prohibits."
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Curley sent letters with similar language to other Maryland and Virginia officials, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, according to NPR.
In one instance, ABC reported, Curley highlighted a Maryland law which states a "person may not intentionally assemble with another in a manner that disrupts a person's right to tranquility in the person's home."
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Demonstrators outside the home of Justice Clarence Thomas in Fairfax, Virginia.
She also referenced a Montgomery County law that says a "person or group of persons must not picket in front of or adjacent to any private residence," the outlet continued.
According to ABC, Curley said there has been an uptick in demonstrations outside of justices' homes since the draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked to the public in May.
In response to the letters, Hogan's director of communications, Michael Ricci, shared a statement on Twitter Saturday saying both governors have been trying to enforce these laws for months.
"Two months ago, Governor Hogan and Governor Youngkin sent a letter calling on Attorney General Garland to enforce the clear and unambiguous federal statutes on the books that prohibit picketing at judge's residences," the statement begins.
He wrote that a month later, after an armed man was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh's home, "the Department of Justice finally responded, declining to enforce the laws."
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Ricci said that Curley's latest letters contain "conflicting information."
"Had the marshal taken time to explore the matter, she would have learned that the constitutionality of the statute cited in her letter has been questioned by the Maryland Attorney General's Office," he wrote.
He continued that throughout the back and forth, Maryland's "state and local law enforcement have been on the front lines every day protecting these communities."
To conclude, he wrote, "in light of the continued refusal by multiple federal entities to act, the governor has directed Maryland State Police to further review enforcement options that respect the First Amendment and the Constitution."
