This post was originally published on this site
WASHINGTON—Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch issued a statement Wednesday tamping down reports that they are at odds over masking in the courthouse amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Justice Sotomayor has been participating in court proceedings remotely this month, while her eight colleagues take the bench for oral argument. Justice Gorsuch, alone among them, hasn’t worn a mask. On Tuesday, NPR and CNN reported that Justice Sotomayor, who is 67 years old and whose diabetes puts her at elevated risk, was avoiding the proceedings because of her unmasked colleague.
On Wednesday, while the court heard arguments over a crack-cocaine case, the court’s spokeswoman issued a joint statement from Justices Sotomayor and Gorsuch.
“Reporting that Justice Sotomayor asked Justice Gorsuch to wear a mask surprised us. It is false. While we may sometimes disagree about the law, we are warm colleagues and friends,” the statement reads.
An expanded version of this story appears on WSJ.com.
Popular stories from WSJ.com:
