Supreme Court Says Alito Misunderstood Sotomayor's Bench Dissent

The U.S. Supreme Court said Justice Samuel Alito's public remarks following a dissent read from the bench by Justice Sonia Sotomayor stemmed from a misunderstanding, CNN reported.

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor exchanged an unusual public moment during the release of opinions. (Photo: Gage Skidmore Flickr)

"Justice Alito was notified in advance by Justice Sotomayor's chambers that she would be reading a dissent from the bench," a Supreme Court spokesperson said in a statement to CNN.

"It was a misunderstanding on Justice Alito's part."

The rare statement followed an unusual exchange between the two justices during the recent release of opinions.

Sotomayor, the court's senior liberal justice, delivered a rare oral dissent in a case involving asylum claims. Alito, who was scheduled to summarize the next opinion, appeared surprised by her remarks.

"There's much that I would have added to my bench statement had I known there would be a dissent read," Alito said, departing from the court's typically well-choreographed opinion announcements.

Alito, who authored three of the four opinions released that day, initially suggested he had not been aware Sotomayor intended to read her dissent aloud.

Reading a dissent from the bench is uncommon and typically signals a justice's strong disagreement with the court's majority opinion.

The Supreme Court still has several closely watched cases pending, including disputes involving President Donald Trump and other major social and constitutional issues.

The exchange occurred after the court's 6-3 decision upholding a policy allowing the government to turn away certain asylum seekers at the border.