Flags outside of Alito's houses spark political backlash as Supreme Court nears end of term

Washington — Reports of two different flags flown outside of Justice Samuel Alito's houses have ignited a political firestorm and reinvigorated a focus on ethics practices at the Supreme Court, as Democrats push legislation that would require the court to adopt a binding code of conduct and call for the justice to recuse himself from cases involving former President Donald Trump and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

The criticism of Alito follows a pair of reports from the New York Times that revealed an upside down American flag flew outside his Virginia home in mid-January 2021, and an "Appeal to Heaven" flag was displayed outside his vacation home in New Jersey in July and September 2023.