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When I reached Mark Joseph Stern, who covers the federal judiciary for slate, I had one

simple question for him. How weird is it at the Supreme Court right now?

It's really weird. I will tell you that I am not allowed in because only a small group

of journalists who are called hard pass holders who register with the court annually are allowed

in right now because of COVID protocols. It's unfortunate because I feel like there

is so much body language going on and I'm missing all of it. So I can only say from reporting

and what oozes through the audio that it is a very fraught and toxic environment these

days.

If you think your workplace is difficult to hang out in right now, consider the plate

of these nine justices, a cabinet of rivals forced to come together day after day, even

though it is clear to just about everyone how little they can agree on. It's hard to

say when the atmosphere became fraught and toxic, but the pandemic certainly did not help.

Early on, when the court was only doing arguments over the telephone, it revealed a very gendered

dynamic about who gets to speak and who doesn't because the male justices were frequently

interrupting the female justices. Chief Justice Roberts, who was supposed to be giving

each justice equal time, ended up allowing people like Alito and Gorsuch to blab over

...