{"id":155609,"date":"2026-06-30T13:07:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T21:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/06\/30\/npr-reports-sam-alito-retires-from-supreme-court-spoiler-alert-he-did-not\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T13:07:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T21:07:28","slug":"npr-reports-sam-alito-retires-from-supreme-court-spoiler-alert-he-did-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/06\/30\/npr-reports-sam-alito-retires-from-supreme-court-spoiler-alert-he-did-not\/","title":{"rendered":"NPR Reports Sam Alito Retires From Supreme Court (Spoiler Alert: He Did Not)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sam Alito watched his career flash before his eyes on Tuesday. Immediately after the conclusion of the Supreme Court Term, NPR reported that the justice had announced his retirement, complete with Nina Totenberg\u2019s retrospective on his tenure. Totenberg framed her look back at his career through the lens of Dobbs<\/em>, the opinion striking down reproductive rights that Alito definitely<\/em> didn\u2019t personally leak to lock in his squishier conservative colleagues who he feared could retreat from his red meat, witch hunter-approved<\/a> draft. Her article even addresses the leak, repeating Alito\u2019s doth-protest-too-much complaints that the leak put the lives of the justices at risk.<\/p>\n

The only problem is that Sam Alito has not \u2014 as of this writing \u2014 retired. <\/p>\n

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<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oops.<\/p>\n

NPR has already put up a retraction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Adding to the unintentional comedy, the story hit the website while Totenberg was still inside the court<\/em>. Mark Walsh of SCOTUSBlog posted in their liveblog as the news spread: \u201cThe PIO just checking with Nina in the broadcast booth and Nina says this is a mistake and they are taking it down.\u201d <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a testament to Totenberg\u2019s career that Supreme Court officials saw this and their first impulse was, WE need to see if she\u2019s right. Meanwhile, this is a distressing turn of events for someone down at NPR headquarters. To that person, a reliable source once told me that flying a flag upside down is the international symbol of distress<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The photo caption gave it away before the copy did. \u201cJustice Samuel Alito, seen here in April 2021, retired Friday.\u201d That\u2019s placeholder text. I mean\u2026 it quotes a former Alito clerk and spells his name three different ways! This is not a fully fleshed out draft. <\/p>\n

But like any responsible journalist, Totenberg wrote this piece beforehand so it can be quickly cleaned up and posted if Alito were to retire. A journalist doesn\u2019t want to be caught unprepared when Gerald Ford is eaten by wolves.<\/p>\n

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And there\u2019s been a lot of speculation over Alito\u2019s future. Above the Law\u2019s former editors even have a bet on it. Elie Mystal saw Alito\u2019s upcoming book launch as a sign that he planned to be out of a job by next October<\/a>. David Lat, on the other hand, never bought it<\/a>. When there\u2019s that much smoke, you put together a draft \u2014 just as major publications pre-write obituaries all the time. <\/p>\n

The trick is, not<\/em> publishing those drafts until the event actually transpires. Some folks online think this article is proof that Alito is really retiring and NPR\u2019s only error was publishing too soon. It\u2019s possible, but there\u2019s no need to make this more complicated. Bloomberg once pushed a 17-page Steve Jobs obituary onto the wire while Jobs was alive and running Apple. CNN has leaked draft obits for the living more than once. The graveyard shift hits the wrong button. It happens.<\/p>\n

Totenberg\u2019s draft is no longer up, but it opened by placing Alito among the justices whose names attach to a single decision:<\/p>\n

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Chief Justice John Marshall for his groundbreaking decision in 1803\u2026 Chief Justice Roger Taney for his infamous decision in the Dred Scott case\u2026 Chief Justice Earl Warren for his 1954 decision declaring racial segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional. And in our own times, Alito\u2019s name is indelibly linked with the court\u2019s opinion overturning a half century\u2019s worth of decisions declaring that women have a right to abortion.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Taney comparison is solid. My pre-write goes with James McReynolds, but everyone makes their own journalistic choices. Mine also includes the sentence opener: \u201cAlito, who put the \u2018Sir<\/a>\u2018 in \u2018insurrectionist<\/a>.’\u201d Just to give you all a little peek.<\/p>\n

While Alito did not actually retire this morning, he could decide to make an honest outlet of NPR later. And if he does, this incident will go down as another premature leak. The most Alito way to go out.<\/p>\n

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\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post NPR Reports Sam Alito Retires From Supreme Court (Spoiler Alert: He Did Not)<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tImage via Frinkiac & Getty & my photoshop skills\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sam Alito watched his career flash before his eyes on Tuesday. Immediately after the conclusion of the Supreme Court Term, NPR reported that the justice had announced his retirement, complete with Nina Totenberg\u2019s retrospective on his tenure. Totenberg framed her look back at his career through the lens of Dobbs<\/em>, the opinion striking down reproductive rights that Alito definitely<\/em> didn\u2019t personally leak to lock in his squishier conservative colleagues who he feared could retreat from his red meat, witch hunter-approved<\/a> draft. Her article even addresses the leak, repeating Alito\u2019s doth-protest-too-much complaints that the leak put the lives of the justices at risk.<\/p>\n

The only problem is that Sam Alito has not \u2014 as of this writing \u2014 retired. <\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oops.<\/p>\n

NPR has already put up a retraction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Adding to the unintentional comedy, the story hit the website while Totenberg was still inside the court<\/em>. Mark Walsh of SCOTUSBlog posted in their liveblog as the news spread: \u201cThe PIO just checking with Nina in the broadcast booth and Nina says this is a mistake and they are taking it down.\u201d <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a testament to Totenberg\u2019s career that Supreme Court officials saw this and their first impulse was, WE need to see if she\u2019s right. Meanwhile, this is a distressing turn of events for someone down at NPR headquarters. To that person, a reliable source once told me that flying a flag upside down is the international symbol of distress<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The photo caption gave it away before the copy did. \u201cJustice Samuel Alito, seen here in April 2021, retired Friday.\u201d That\u2019s placeholder text. I mean\u2026 it quotes a former Alito clerk and spells his name three different ways! This is not a fully fleshed out draft. <\/p>\n

But like any responsible journalist, Totenberg wrote this piece beforehand so it can be quickly cleaned up and posted if Alito were to retire. A journalist doesn\u2019t want to be caught unprepared when Gerald Ford is eaten by wolves.<\/p>\n