Justice Alito Just Went Scorched Earth on Ketanji Brown Jackson

Matt Vespa | May 05, 2026 6:30 AM

It’s official: the Louisiana congressional maps are released. The Supreme Court issued its decision last night, striking down the maps at the center of the Louisiana v. Callais case, which limited the use of Section II of the Voting Rights Act, allowing the creation of congressional districts based on racial quotas.

While not officially gutting the VRA, it does open the door for the entire South to be redistricted without fear of lawsuits. Not officially struck down, but narrowed to the point of erasure is accurate. The Callais case involved a map struck down under the VRA, later revised to create a majority-black district, which was also challenged, and where the Supreme Court ruled it was unconstitutional.

Now, with this judgment, there was a harsh rebuke of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s dissent, where Justice Alito, in an academic tone, essentially called her a reckless clown who doesn’t understand the law. We’ve seen a similar attitude on the liberal side as well, with Justices Kagan or Sotomayor disagreeing with the majority but avoiding Jackson’s dissents since they usually don’t make much sense. It led to a barrel of laughs on social media:

🚨 The Supreme Court has immediately issued its judgment striking down Louisiana’s congressional map as a racial gerrymander. pic.twitter.com/AQJjA5Sw2P
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) May 4, 2026

Justice Alito fires back at Justice Jackson, calling her solo dissent "baseless and insulting" and "utterly irresponsible" after she accused the majority of abandoning principle for power. pic.twitter.com/cfSGyWcuC7
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) May 4, 2026