While the mainstream media is wringing their hands about whether Donald Trump can get a fair trial with concerns about Fani Willis and Judge Juan Merchan’s daughter, they should pay attention to what conservative justices like Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito feel about due process.
These justices believe in procedural due process in which a defendant gets a trial by a jury. They do not believe that the state should pay for a lawyer if the defendant cannot afford one. They have also leaned heavily in favor of the police, who can coerce plea deals from defendants to avoid a trial. They condone illegal searches by police, who bully a suspect into such searches. They are no fans of substantive due process in which a defendant can be protected from the overwhelming power of the state, but it is the conservatives out there beating the bush everyday grabbing at straws to discredit judges, prosecutors, and allow Trump to encourage violence against witnesses, jurors, and family members.
MAGA conservatives are very concerned about optics and impartiality, but no competent judge or prosecutor would ever meet their standards. In other words, they speak out of both sides of their mouths. When it is a political favorite, they demand perfect justice. When it is a member of the hoi polloi, screw them.