Will supreme court ethics prove to be a key election issue?

'Look at me, look at me," said Martha-Ann Alito. "My heritage is German. You come after me, I'm gonna give it back to you." It was a bizarre outburst from the wife of a justice on America's highest court. Secretly recorded by a liberal activist, Alito complained about a neighbour's gay pride flag and expressed a desire to fly a sacred heart of Jesus flag in protest.

- David Smith

This, along with audio clips of Justice Samuel Alito and a stream of ethics violations, has deepened public concerns. The Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin has described a "national clamour over this crisis of legitimacy". A recent poll for the advocacy organisation Stand Up America suggests the supreme court will play a crucial role in voters' choices in the 2024 election. Nearly three in four said the selection of justices will be an important consideration for them in voting for both president and senator in November.

Reed Galen, a co-founder of the Lincoln Project, a conservative pro-democracy group, said: "The idea these guys act as if they are kings ruling from above, to me, should absolutely be an issue. It was always Republicans who said we hate unelected judges legislating from the bench and we hate judicial activism. That's all this stuff is."