Courthouse Forum: The Dynamic Duo, Posner and Kozinski!!!

Article III Groupie spends a lot of time, plus $4.95 a month in Typepad fees, on her blog. And, in a certain sense, she has relatively little to show for it.

To be sure, she has accumulated some delightful press clippings -- the most recent being Sarah Kellogg's excellent cover story in the latest issue of the Washington Lawyer. But some days A3G can't help asking herself: "Why do I do it? What does it get me? Scrapbooks full of me in the background. Give 'em love and what does it get ya?"

A3G's blogging, far from advancing her legal career, actually impairs it, by cutting the time she can spend on work. She has not parlayed her blog into a lucrative book deal, nor has she managed to monetize her blog in any other way. But messages like this one are as precious as gold:

From: Richard Posner
To: Article III Groupie
Date: Apr 4, 2005 12:43 AM
Subject: Your latest blog (race to the courthouse)

Dear Ms. Article III Groupie, glad to see you back blogging regularly. Very nice piece on the Justice aspirants. You're a wit. Richard A. Posner

WOW! An email like this one, containing compliments from one of the biggest federal judicial celebrities, can keep A3G going for weeks. After all, Judge Posner is a public intellectual whose richly deserved fame extends well beyond the boundaries of the legal profession. He turns out a great op-ed piece every other week, a brilliant book every other month. The Posnerian mind is so powerful that the brain waves involved in composing this 25-word email message could illuminate a small village for days.

And that's not all, folks. Not too long ago, A3G received some delicious correspondence from the other leading light of the Article III judiciary, Judge Alex Kozinski. She emailed the #1 Superhottie to inform him that she will soon be blogging about his recent C-SPAN appearance, which she absolutely loved. The Easy Rider wrote back:

From: The Easy Rider

To: Article III Groupie

Date: Mar 25, 2005 4:29 AM

Subject: Re: Greetings

Good to hear from you A3G.  Glad you enjoyed the program -- I haven't had a chance to watch it yet myself, but I did enjoy doing it.  I'm not sure whether you saw it on TV on Wed night, or online.  In case you saw it on TV, here is the link for the online version: [click here].

I had a long day, which started out in San Francisco with an 8:30 en banc in a capital case, Landrigan v. Stewart.

You should have been there.  Sitting in the middle of the front row, elbow-to-elbow, were the court's two superhotties -- Judge Wardlaw and I.

I'll look forward to your posting about my C-Span appearance.

Hope all is well with you.

Ciao.  AK

Double WOW!  A3G has corresponded in the past few weeks with the two most famous federal judges in the country (Supreme Court justices excepted).* Her life is now complete. Dear Lord, please take her now -- before she has to take that stupid expert deposition!

* The Supreme Court would be lucky to have either Judge Kozinski or Judge Posner. Unfortunately, these distinguished jurists may turn out to be victims of their own brilliance and genuine judicial integrity. Despite their manifest genius, each is widely viewed as too independent-minded, i.e., not enough of a political hack, to be likely Scotus material. (And even though he's ten times as active and prolific as people who are half his age, Judge Posner turns 66 this year, which makes him an unlikely nominee.)

But it ain't over 'til it's over. The youthful Judge Kozinski (54) remains in the running, even if he may be a long shot. And a wager on The Easy Rider could pay big money if he makes it to One First Street!