Today
is
the
First
Monday
in
October,
which,
as
Supreme
Court
watchers
know,
is
the
start
of
the
High
Court’s
new
Term.
The
Court
will,
again,
tackle
issues that
will
shape
the
very
fabric
of
life
in
America.
Given
the
import
of
nine
individuals,
it’s
worth
looking
at
exactly
who
has
a
lifetime
appointment
to
the
High
Court
—
and
who
they
choose
to
associate
with.
The
Intercept’s
Shawn
Musgrave published
an
in-depth
look
at
the
relationship
between
Justice
Samuel
Alito
and
Mark
Martin.
But
first,
the
seemingly
obvious
question,
who
is
Mark
Martin?
The
dean
of
High
Point
University’s
law
school
was
previously
Chief
Justice
of
the
Supreme
Court
of
North
Carolina,
Associate
Judge
on
the
North
Carolina
Court
of
Appeals,
dean
and
professor
of
law
at
Regent
University
School
of
Law…
and
he
advised
Donald
Trump
on
how
to
overturn
the
results
of
the
2020
election.
That’s
right,
Martin
was
the
brains
behind
the
theory
that
the
Vice
President
could
just
choose
not
to
certify
the
election
results
on
January
6th.
Trump
told
Mike
Pence
he
“had
spoken
with
Mark
Martin,
the
former
chief
justice
of
the
North
Carolina
Supreme
Court,
who
he
said
had
told
him
that
Mr.
Pence
had
that
power
(to
reject
the
Electoral
College
votes
on
January
6th
2021).”
All
of
which
resulted
in
effigies
of
Pence
during
the
attempted
coup
that
day.
Even
after
Martin’s
high-profile
role
in
trying
to
subvert
democracy
by
promulgating
piss-poor
legal
takes,
Alito
was
teaching
a
small
seminar
with
him.
Just
20
days
after
the
insurrection,
Martin
had
another
intimate
audience
with
another
powerful
right-winger:
He
taught
a
three-day
seminar
on
constitutional law with
U.S.
Supreme
Court
Justice
Samuel
Alito for Regent
University
Law
School
in
Virginia,
where
Martin
was
the
dean
at
the
time.
In
fact,
for
three
years
in
a
row,
Alito
taught
“Select
Issues
in
Constitutional
Interpretation”
with
Martin.
By
his
own
account,
teaching
with
Alito
is
one
of
the
pinnacles
of
Martin’s
career.Asked
recently
about
the
biggest
challenges
and
rewards
in
moving
from
the
judiciary
into
legal
education,
Martin highlighted that
he
“even
was
able
to
co-teach
a
law
course
with
U.S.
Supreme
Court
Justice
Sam
Alito
for
three
years
in
a
row.”
(In
the
same
softball
interview,
Martin
dodged
questions
about
January
6,
citing
“confidentiality.”)Martin’s online
biography for
the
Federalist
Society
lists
his
seminars
with
Alito
among
many
other
achievements
and
honors.
Martin
recently
added
the
Alito
seminars
to his
bio on
the
High
Point
University
website,
where
he
has
been
law
school
dean
since
leaving
Regent
in
2022.
As
Gabe
Roth,
executive
director
of
Fix
the
Court,
said,
“It
was
and
continues
to
be
a
shock
to
the
system
knowing
that
the
upper
echelons
of
the
legal
community
used
their
legal
talents
to
subvert
the
will
of
the
people
and
that
Supreme
Court
justices
of
all
people
are
friends
with
these
individuals.”
This
isn’t
the
first
time
Alito
has
made
his
controversial
politics
apparent.
Though
he
blamed
it
on
his
wife,
in
the
days
following
the
insurrection
Alito’s
home
was
seen
flying
a
flag
favored
by
insurrectionists.
And
his
vacation
home
on
Long
Beach
Island,
New
Jersey,
flew an
“Appeal
to
Heaven”
flag. The
flag
dates
back
to
the
Revolutionary
War,
but
has
seen
a
resurgence
in
popularity
as
a
symbol
of
Christian
nationalism
and
support
for
Donald
Trump.
Alito
was
also caught
on
tape saying
there
are
“fundamental
things
that
really
can’t
be
compromised”
with
the
left.
And
that
he
thinks
the
country
needs
to
return
to
a
place
of
godliness.
But
none
of
this
will
convince
Alito
to
recuse
himself
when
his
clearly
expressed
political
views
come
before
the
Court
because
he’s
beyond
shame.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
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on
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@Kathryn1 or
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@[email protected].