One member of the esteemed group feels like a `` proverbial potted plant , '' while another resents sitting there `` looking stupid . '' Their chief ponders the pageantry and politics of it all and wonders why they bother to go . For members of the Supreme Court , enduring the State of the Union address is a civic exercise in poker-faced discretion . As recent history has shown , that is not always easy . Tuesday 's speech in the House chamber by President Barack Obama will be watched closely not only for what is said about his second-term agenda , but also for who will be there in person to hear it . Court members are not required by law to be there , but custom has dictated their appearance in their robes , mostly for show . Talk Back : Should President Obama use his bully pulpit more ? They are low-key part of the pageantry and are compelled to sit politely and stoically amid the often high-spirited partisan rhetoric and response of the event . There is no word yet from the high court about who appear . Invitations are sent to each chamber and the justices have individual discretion whether to attend . Usually one or more do . Anthony Kennedy attends but Stephen Breyer is the one justice who might be called a regular . `` People attend if they wish to attend . I do wish to attend , so I go , '' Breyer told CNN in 2005 . Government sources say Justice Sonia Sotomayor , who joined the bench in 2009 , is expected to be there . So , too , Justice Elena Kagan . Obama nominated both to the court . Rand Paul to deliver tea party response to Obama , GOP . The political embers were stoked three years ago when Obama went after high court conservatives during the speech . He singled out the majority ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission , issued a week earlier , which removed legal barriers preventing corporations and unions from spending unlimited sums on federal elections . `` With all due deference to the separation of powers , '' Obama said , `` the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests , including foreign corporations , to spend without limit in our elections . '' Sitting just feet away in the audience , Samuel Alito shook his head and mouthed words interpreted as `` not true , '' referring to the line about `` foreign corporations , '' court sources later confirmed . Alito 's five fellow justices with him that night showed no emotion . Chief Justice John Roberts labeled the political atmosphere at the 2010 address `` very troubling '' and said partisan rhetoric and gestures aimed at the court left him questioning whether his colleagues should attend . `` It does cause me to think whether or not it makes sense for us to be there '' Roberts said weeks after the controversy . `` To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally , I 'm not sure why we 're there . '' Rubio to deliver GOP State of the Union response . Regardless , Roberts has never missed a State of the Union as chief justice and is expected to be there next week . His predecessor , Chief Justice William Rehnquist , rarely appeared in person . On one occasion , he considered a painting class more preferable . Some current justices have been no shows regularly or at times . Alito had been a regular , but he told an audience after the 2010 event that he felt `` like the proverbial potted plant '' and would not be attending in the near future . Justice Clarence Thomas called it `` very uncomfortable for a judge to sit there . '' He went to Obama 's first in 2009 , but has not been back since . `` There 's a lot that you do n't hear on TV , '' he said recently . `` The cat-calls , the whooping , hollering , and under-the breath comments . '' Another more vocal no-go is Justice Antonin Scalia , who has compared the televised State of the Union to `` cheerleading sessions . '' `` You just sit there , looking stupid , '' he said , calling the event and the spasms of partisan applause a spectacle . `` I resent being called upon to give it dignity . '' He last attended in 1997 . By the numbers : State of the Union .
Not always easy for Supreme Court justices at annual address . Obama irritated some with criticism of conservative members in 2010 . Custom dictates the justices wear their robes during speech . Chief Justice Roberts has never missed a State of the Union speech .