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Is Samuel Alito Preparing to Disrobe? - Elie Mystal [View all]
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/newsletter-samuel-alito-retiring/Archived
https://archive.ph/V4KDf
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has a new book coming out. It’s titled How Watching Fox News Made Me the Worst Version of Myself.
Just kidding, I don’t actually care what it’s called. (Fine. I can Google it for you. It’s called So Ordered: An Originalist’s View of the Constitution, the Court, and the Country.) It’s my job to read such things and… I won’t read his book. They can’t make me. Life is entirely too short.
I bring it up because the book is scheduled to be released October 6, 2026. That’s a curious date. The Supreme Court starts its 2026–27 term on October 5, the first Monday of October. Alito’s book is set to drop the next day.
It sure feels like Alito doesn’t plan on having a real job the Tuesday his book launches and instead thinks he’ll be free to run around the country promoting it. By way of context, here are publication dates for the the last four sitting Supreme Court justices who released books:
Amy Coney Barrett, September 9, 2025
Neil Gorsuch, May 5, 2025
Ketanji Brown Jackson, September 4, 2024
Sonia Sotomayor, January 25, 2022 (a children’s book)
Sonia Sotomayor, September 3, 2019
It makes sense for the justices to release their books in September. You have all the attention on the upcoming term, but the justices are free to fly around the country, giving talks and doing interviews to promote their books. May also makes sense, because the court is no longer hearing cases then, just writing and editing opinions.
The justices are busy in October. Arguably too busy to sell a book.
Just kidding, I don’t actually care what it’s called. (Fine. I can Google it for you. It’s called So Ordered: An Originalist’s View of the Constitution, the Court, and the Country.) It’s my job to read such things and… I won’t read his book. They can’t make me. Life is entirely too short.
I bring it up because the book is scheduled to be released October 6, 2026. That’s a curious date. The Supreme Court starts its 2026–27 term on October 5, the first Monday of October. Alito’s book is set to drop the next day.
It sure feels like Alito doesn’t plan on having a real job the Tuesday his book launches and instead thinks he’ll be free to run around the country promoting it. By way of context, here are publication dates for the the last four sitting Supreme Court justices who released books:
Amy Coney Barrett, September 9, 2025
Neil Gorsuch, May 5, 2025
Ketanji Brown Jackson, September 4, 2024
Sonia Sotomayor, January 25, 2022 (a children’s book)
Sonia Sotomayor, September 3, 2019
It makes sense for the justices to release their books in September. You have all the attention on the upcoming term, but the justices are free to fly around the country, giving talks and doing interviews to promote their books. May also makes sense, because the court is no longer hearing cases then, just writing and editing opinions.
The justices are busy in October. Arguably too busy to sell a book.
Even if this isn’t true, in the unlikely scenario Dems retake the Senate in November you better believe he’s quitting and a replacement is being rammed through in a matter of weeks.
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social) 2026-02-06T18:43:42.359Z
30 replies
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