Supreme Court Justices Sotomayor, Gorsuch push back on reports of dispute over mask wearing

WASHINGTON – Supreme Court Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch pushed back Wednesday on reporting that the two are engaged in a dispute over mask wearing inside the nation's highest courtroom amid the surging COVID-19 pandemic.

In a joint statement released by the court, the two said news accounts of the dispute "surprised us" and described them as "false."

"While we may sometimes disagree about the law, we are warm colleagues and friends," the two said in the statement.

Chief Justice John Roberts also disputed the reports in a separate statement.

The highly unusual public reaction came as Gorsuch has broken with the other eight justices in declining to wear a mask during oral arguments. Since the omicron variant triggered a recent surge in infections, Sotomayor has been taking part in arguments remotely from her chambers in the building rather than sitting on the bench.

Report: Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch refuses to wear mask in the courtroom, despite request from Roberts

The court returned to in-person oral arguments in October after a term in which it heard arguments via telephone.

A report from NPR, citing unnamed sources, said that Sotomayor did not feel safe near people who were unmasked. Roberts had asked the justices to wear masks in the courtroom, NPR reported, but Gorsuch declined to do so.

The initial joint statement disputed the notion that Sotomayor asked Gorsuch to wear a mask. But the NPR story said it was Roberts who requested that the justices wear masks and the first statement did not address that point.

Roberts then followed up with his own statement, released by the court hours later, asserting that he "did not request Justice Gorsuch or any other justice to wear a mask on the bench."

NPR said it stands by the story.

"On Wednesday, Sotomayor and Gorsuch issued a statement saying that she did not ask him to wear a mask. NPR's report did not say that she did. Then, the chief justice issued a statement saying he 'did not request Justice Gorsuch or any other justice to wear a mask on the bench.' The NPR report said the chief justice's ask to the justices had come 'in some form,'" NPR said in a story posted on its website Wednesday.

When the high court returned to in-person arguments none of the justices, except for Sotomayor, wore a mask in the courtroom. The attorneys arguing cases would wear a mask while sitting but not while speaking at the lectern. Law clerks, court staff and journalists wear a mask throughout the entirety of the arguments.

But when the court returned from the holiday break on Jan. 7, seven of the justices present – all but Gorsuch – walked to the bench in masks. Sotomayor elected to take part remotely from her chambers. Throughout the arguments some of the justices keep their masks on while speaking while others remove them for various lengths of time.

Sotomayor has diabetes, which puts her at higher risk for a serious bout with COVID-19. Gorsuch sits next to Sotomayor on the bench.

Contributing: Amy Nakamura

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Supreme Court Justices Sotomayor, Gorsuch deny reports of mask dispute