Nina Totenberg, to her credit, took all the blame for the Alito retirement story. She also offered a sincere apology, which I respect. Still, her error is inexplicable. Here is how the NPR Public Editor described the incident:
Totenberg was reporting on the final day of the Supreme Court session on Tuesday. As she was leaving the court, Chief Justice John Roberts was announcing upcoming retirements. Totenberg wondered why everyone else wasn't leaving and asked someone outside the court. According to her interview that same day on All Things Considered, Totenberg asked a bystander what was going on, and the person replied "retirement announcements." But Totenberg heard the reply in the singular, "announcement, " and assumed it was the notice that Alito was retiring.
Let me set the stage a bit. On the last day of each term, after all the opinions are announced, the Chief Justice announces retirements of Court employees. But it is not the practice for a Justice to announce his or retirement on the last day. I think the last person to do that was Justice Thurgood Marshall, as Totenberg reported in 1991.
