Underneath Their Robes

Judicial SIGHT-ation (of a sort): Justice Scalia on Gay Porn Site

Article III Groupie was one of the first bloggers to discuss Justice Scalia's recent visit to NYU Law, but she was definitely not the last. The controversy set the blogosphere ablaze; everyone had something to say. (For a useful compilation of notable posts, check out this round-up at Outside the Whale, or this post by Law Dork's Chris Geidner -- which includes an email about the incident from NYU Dean Richard Revesz.)

In her post about the controversy, A3G described the events at NYU as disgraceful and mortifying. Well, just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, they did.

[Warning: Do not click through any of the next four links if you are in the office (or if you are squeamish).]

Justice Scalia is now featured on a gay porn site called Nightcharm: Gay Porn and Naked Men Pictures. Thankfully, he does not appear in the porn section of the site; rather, his appearance at NYU is discussed in the site's blog. But A3G was still shocked and disturbed just to see the words "Justice Scalia" on the same web page as a photograph of a naked male pleasuring himself. (For the record, and in case you're wondering, Article III Groupie only learned of Nightcharm through her website referrers log; the Nightcharm post linked back to the UTR post about "Sodomy-gate.")

Nightcharm's post about Justice Scalia features a well-endowed young man in boxer briefs and a tank top that reads, "Justice Scalia, Do You Sodomize Your Wife?" The posts that immediately follow are entitled "Grant: Hard Rockin' and Rock-Hard" and "How to Have a Lucid Wet Dream." Noscitur a sociis? Methinks not.

Another odd place that the "Scalia at NYU" controversy has turned up: on a discussion board about role-playing games. Surprising and strange -- although somewhat less bizarre than the appearance on the porn site. After all, A3G wouldn't be surprised to find a 20-sided die in Justice Breyer's jacket pocket, right next to his pocket Constitution. And rumor has it that Justice Ginsburg forces her clerks to play Magic: The Gathering with her...*

* This is a joke. An outing to the opera would be a more likely way for Justice Ginsburg to spend quality time with her clerks.

UTR Discovery Request: Tidbits, Please!

Article III Groupie has been very busy at work these days. If she had more time, she would join in the "comment war" taking place between UTR readers concerning Justice Scalia's recent visit to NYU Law (a judicial sight-ation that was even picked up by Page Six and Gawker). To read the comments, click here and scroll down the page; there's some interesting stuff.

If she had more time, A3G would also issue an updated version of her list of Supreme Court clerks for October Term 2005. But she is still processing the tons of helpful emails that she received in response to her UTR Discovery Request seeking information about the OT 2005 clerk class.

A3G thanks her readers for all of their OT 2005 contributions (and apologizes for not responding to each email personally). She believes that she now has information -- at least in terms of names, law schools, and prior clerkships -- about all of the elves who will be toiling at One First Street starting this summer.

But she must also chide some of you, for your inability to follow directions -- surprising in a bunch of people who owe much of their success to standardized test-taking. Many of you submitted name, law school, and prior clerkship information for OT 2005 clerks -- but omitted the requested juicy tidbits. And Momma Groupie wants her tidbits, chickadees!

So please email A3G with fun facts, trivia, or gossip about the OT 2005 Supreme Court clerks. And this request extends to the clerks whose names appeared in A3G's original post; just because A3G knows they'll be clerking at the Court does not mean she has any good dish about them. The sooner A3G has her tidbits, the sooner the full list will appear. She thanks you in advance for your help!

Courthouse Forum: An Update on Judge Joan H. Lefkow

Today's Courthouse Forum mailbag contains a letter from a wonderful jurist: Judge Robert W. Gettleman (N.D. Ill.),whom A3G had the pleasure and honor of interviewing last November.

First, some background. Back in this post, A3G offered her condolences to Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow (N.D. Ill.), whose husband and mother were murdered earlier this year. During the period immediately following the murders, suspicion in the murders of Judge Lefkow's husband and mother focused on followers of white supremacist Matthew Hale, who had been convicted of plotting to murder Judge Lefkow. Evidence now suggests that the murders were committed not by followers of Hale but by Bart Ross, an unemployed electrician whose case had been dismissed by Judge Lefkow. Ross, who killed himself in March, left a suicide note confessing to the killings, and his DNA has been linked to the crime scene. (Hale, who was in prison at the time of the murders, was recently sentenced to 40 years in prison for his solicitation to murder Judge Lefkow.)

A3G would now like to share with you an email from Judge Gettleman, a colleague of Judge Lefkow. This email, which A3G reprints with Judge Gettleman's permission, was a response to a message from A3G expressing concern for Judge Lefkow and the other judges in the Northern District of Illinois.

From: Judge Gettleman

To: Article III Groupie

Date: Apr 12, 2005 11:44 AM

Subject: Re: Your message

Dear A3G,

Thanks for the note. I've been keeping up with your blog and always enjoy your wit and insights, even though you continue to fawn a bit much over Kozinski.

It's been a difficult time for us since the tragedy involving my colleague and friend Judge Lefkow. You'd be proud of the strength and grace she's shown in the face of unspeakable evil and loss. The court has rallied around her and her family, of course, but the strength comes from her. I think it's fair to say that things will never be the same around here, or perhaps in the federal judiciary, again. There's an interesting article in the latest edition of New York Magazine about judicial security, featuring my old friend Fred Block of the Eastern District of New York.

Keep up the good work.

Warm regards,

Bob Gettleman

A3G thanks Judge Gettleman for his moving message. And she commends Judge Lefkow for demonstrating such remarkable strength and courage in the wake of truly awful events. The next time you pick up a federal case reporter, reflect for a moment on the wise, brave, hardworking women and men whose service -- and whose sacrifices -- make possible the ordered liberty in which we live.

Judicial SIGHT-ation: Justice Scalia at NYU!

What is it with New York University Law School and Supreme Court justices these days? Just last week, on Monday, April 4, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy graced NYU Law with his presence. And last night, on Tuesday, April 12, Justice Antonin Scalia visited NYU. Justice Scalia was on campus to be honored by the NYU Annual Survey of American Law, which is dedicating its 2005 issue to him.

As reported in the Washington Square News, during a question-and-answer period before the dedication ceremony, the Rock Star of One First Street was asked a rather inappropriate question. A UTR reader offers this eyewitness (or earwitness?) account:

as you already know, scalia was at nyu today. in case you haven't yet heard, someone actually had the gall to ask him during a packed question and answer session whether or not he sodomizes his wife!! it was the singularly most shocking event i have witnessed. the question was asked in connection with his contention in lawrence v. texas that the government can regulate private sexual behavior.

After A3G requested details concerning how Justice Scalia and the crowd reacted to the "do you sodomize your wife" inquiry, her loyal correspondent offered further information:

There was this loud collective gasp from the audience, and for about 5 seconds Scalia stared at the questioner - I wasn't sure whether he was in shock like the rest of us, or whether he was going to come down from the podium and throttle the guy. He finally got a hold of himself and said he wasn't going to answer that and tried to move on to the next question, but for about 30 seconds the guy kept on badgering him and Scalia kept on trying to move to the next question, which he finally did.

To Scalia's great credit, he took another half hour of questions, and was cut off by the moderator when the session was scheduled to end, despite his attempting to take even more questions from people. The most disgraceful part about the whole incident is that the dean of the law school didn't cut the guy off, or admonish him, or apologize to Scalia.

After the whole thing was over, every single conversation taking place was focused on the lack of respect and how unseemly the whole thing was.

This is all really quite disgraceful. The questioner would perhaps defend his question as a form of political protest (or maybe as a work of performance art). But the inquiry strikes A3G as absolutely horrific, butt-clenchingly mortifying, and ample proof that there is such a thing as "too much information," even when it comes to justices of the Supreme Court.

Now, A3G knows what you're thinking. As the proprietress of a federal judicial gossip blog, A3G likes to get "under the robes" of Article III judges as much as -- if not more than -- the next gal. So some of you might be thinking, "A3G, where do you get off criticizing someone for going too far into a federal judge's private life? Isn't an unseemly interest in the bedroom practices of the justices just a natural extension of the UTR 'philosophy'?"

Well, even Article III Groupie has some modicum of shame. A line must be drawn somewhere -- especially when you're interacting with a Supreme Court justice in the flesh. Although UTR focuses on federal judges as people, it does so with some sense of boundaries and tact (or so A3G likes to think). Indeed, A3G regularly receives rumors and information for her blog that she declines to publish, based on the exercise of her discretion and common sense (and her desire not to be sued).

A3G has little interest in getting mired in an extended debate over "how far is too far" when it comes to the personal lives of federal judges. And she refuses to accept "blame" for somehow encouraging this type of conduct, through her running of a blog about the federal judiciary's more personal side. People who insist on being rude to federal judges in public will do so regardless of whether UTR exists. 

Suffice it to say: Just because the boundaries set by good taste are somewhat subjective does not mean they're non-existent. To paraphrase Justice Potter Stewart on pornography, when it comes to tastelessness, A3G "knows it when she sees it." And this is it.

UTR Discovery Request: OT 2005 Supreme Court Clerks

Underneath Their Robes isn't just fun and games, gossip blind items, and federal judicial celebrity sightings. Every now and then, Article III Groupie does something approaching real journalism.

Through her Questions Presented series, A3G has interviewed distinguished federal judges. Her recent ruminations about possible Supreme Court nominees are not unlike what one might find on the op-ed page of a major newspaper (but funnier and more creative, or so she likes to think).  And, of course, UTR offers what journalists call "service pieces," or "news you can use" -- such as complete lists of past Supreme Court clerks for OT 2004, OT 2003 and OT 2002, and OT 2000. (When things calm down at work, A3G will post the 2001 list as well, to make a complete set for the past five years.)

Although the October Term 2005 clerks won't be reporting for duty for a few months, numerous readers have been emailing A3G and running Google searches in search of a list of the incoming crop of the Elect. A3G would like to help. In fact, she would love to scoop the mainstream legal news media, by publishing an informal list well before the Public Information Office of the Court certifies the official roster of the Anointed.

But she needs your help. Yep, you guessed it: time for a UTR Discovery Request! Do you know someone who will be clerking at the Court in OT 2005? Or perhaps you are one of the 35 young legal geniuses who will be gracing One First Street with your presence? If so, please email A3G with the following information for each OT 2005 law clerk that you know of:

1. Name
2. Law school (with graduation year if available)
3. Prior clerkship(s) (with years if available)
4. An interesting tidbit

What qualifies as an interesting tidbit? By way of example, here's an interesting tidbit about Sasha Volokh, a current clerk to Judge Alex Kozinski and a future SOC clerk (a tidbit received from Sasha himself, which A3G shares with his permission):

It's probably too late to bring this up, but since you "do" celebrity weddings, I'll mention that Judge Kozinski married me to quare.blogspot.com, in a tasteful five-line, one-minute-long ceremony in his office on October 29, 2004.*

Delightful! This gives you a good idea of what A3G is looking for. But in case you need a few more examples... What's Meaghan McLaine's favorite breakfast cereal? Where does Scott Martin like to shop for his clothes? And does Michael Passaportis (pictured at left) wear boxers or briefs? A3G can't wait to find out! She thanks you in advance for your tips -- and apologizes in advance for not being able to publish all of them.

What will you get in exchange for your information (besides the undying gratitude of a stylish blogress)? Well, A3G realizes that in order to get information, you need to give some up. So, in the spirit of "I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours," here's what A3G already knows about next Term's class of Supreme Court clerks (corrections welcome):

Chief Justice Rehnquist
Ann E. O'Connell (GW/Magill) (see here)
Michael Passaportis (UVA/Wilkinson) (see here)**

Justice Stevens
Sarah McCallum (Oxford/Georgetown/Rakoff (S.D.N.Y.)/Walker)

Justice O'Connor
Ben Horwich (Stanford '03/Becker/V. Walker (N.D. Cal.))
Sasha Volokh (Harvard/Kozinski)

Justice Scalia
John Demers (Harvard/O'Scannlain)
Scott Martin (Columbia/Kozinski)
Evan Young (Yale/Wilkinson)
Unidentified Quota-Filling Luttigator***

Justice Kennedy
Randy Kozel (Harvard/Kozinski)
Jeffrey Pojanowski (Harvard/Roberts)
Unidentified Garland Clerk

Justice Souter
Meaghan McLaine (Harvard '04/Garland)
Jon Michaels (Yale '03/Guido-maniac)
Allison Orr (Wilkinson/UVA) (see here, and picture at right -- meow, A3G's jealous!)
Unidentified Harvard Grad/Sack Clerk

Justice Thomas
James C. Ho (Chicago/J. Smith)
Larry D. Thompson, Jr. (NYU/Luttigator)

Justice Ginsburg
Joshua Civin (Yale/Bleeding Reinhardt)
Rebecca Deutsch (Yale '02/Rakoff (S.D.N.Y.)/Katzmann)

Justice Breyer
Jonathan Kravis (Yale/Garland)
Unidentified Garland Clerk

Footnotes:

* If this discussion strikes you as a little cryptic, worry not. Additional information about Sasha's celebrity wedding, as well as some fun facts about the wedding of his boss, The Easy Rider, will appear in a forthcoming "Courthouse Forum" post.

** A reader advises A3G that "Passaportis is not the rugby player -- that's his cousin." Oops! A3G apologizes for the error. (Hence the classification of this post under "Amended Opinions: UTR Corrections.")

*** Could we be just a little more cliched in our hiring practices, Justice Scalia? Trivia question: Since Judge Luttig joined the bench, has Justice Scalia ever had a year without a Luttigator?

An addendum: In her new capacity as self-appointed clearinghouse of information about the Elect, A3G would like to share with you an excellent article from last November analyzing the OT 2004 clerk class (written by the Liz Smith of One First Street -- a UTR reader, by the way). A3G reprints this most interesting piece, normally accessible only to Legal Times subscribers, with Mr. Mauro's permission. (If you're wondering why it took A3G five months to post this article -- well, she's been busy.) Enjoy!

The Legal Times, November 15, 2004

"Clerk Tally" by Tony Mauro

After a couple of years of hiring record numbers of minority law clerks, the Court this term seems to have slipped backward. None of this term's 35 clerks is African-American, and the complement of clerks in the chambers of Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, and Stephen Breyer are all white. Rehnquist also has no female clerks.

Since attention was drawn to the demographics of law clerks in 1998, the Court itself has offered no official assistance in tallying the racial or ethnic backgrounds of its clerks. But based on research and observation, it appears that 19 of the clerks are white males, 11 are white females, one is a Hispanic male, and four are Asian-American females. Adding together the Hispanic and Asian-Americans, that totals five minorities, down from eight last term and a record nine the term before that.

Those familiar with the crop of applicants chalk up the decrease to the vagaries of law school competition and other factors. Justice Clarence Thomas was scheduled to have an African-American law clerk working for him this term -- Larry Thompson Jr., the son of the former deputy attorney general, who is a longtime friend of Thomas -- but his start was put off until next term. The impact of the law clerk hiring plan that slowed down the competition among appeals court judges for top candidates last year won't be felt at the Supreme Court level until next term's class of clerks.

The African-Americans who are at the top of the classes of the law schools most clerks are drawn from -- Harvard and Yale, primarily -- are often in demand for more lucrative positions, say some observers. "The pool just isn't there yet, and those who are available are snapped up instantly," says one judge familiar with the law clerk landscape.

The lagging economy may also be a factor, says Debra Strauss, author of the leading book on judicial clerkships. Minority law students saddled with debt may be under more pressure than usual to seek scarce law firm jobs rather than take a lower-paying two-year law clerk detour -- clerking for an appeals court judge, then a justice.

"The economy can definitely have an effect," says Strauss, who offers advice and information on clerkships through her Web site: www.judicialclerkships.com. Strauss says the American Bar Association and other organizations have stepped up outreach efforts to attract minorities to clerkships, but help with loan payments is still a problem.

As usual, Harvard was the predominant source for high court law clerks [nine], with the University of Chicago, placing seven clerks, not far behind. Five clerks are Yale Law School alumni, and four went to Stanford. Another recently noted trend has continued this term.

Eleven of the law clerks came to the high court after doing something else since their appeals court clerkship. James Dowden, for example, worked at Ropes & Gray in Boston and taught at his alma mater, Boston College Law School, before beginning his clerkship with Justice Breyer.

The top feeder judge was Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, who sent four of his clerks to the Supreme Court. Three of D.C. Circuit Judge David Tatel's clerks are at the Court this term.

Correction: In the Nov. 15 issue, the Courtside column's demographic tally of Supreme Court law clerks omitted a Hispanic female working in the chambers of Justice Stephen Breyer. The clerk, Christina Burnett, is of Puerto Rican descent. Her inclusion brings the total of minority clerks this term to six.

Questions Presented: Going Back to Cali

Article III Groupie immensely enjoyed her time in the Midwest with Judge Gettleman and Judge Tinder. But now it's time to return to the West Coast, where she kicked off her interview series with Judge Wardlaw, for a cyber-visit to Sacramento (home of "The People's Governor"). A3G is just tickled pink to announce her next "Questions Presented" interviewee: the Honorable Morrison C. England, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California!

Judge England is no stranger to these pages. Prior posts have noted his athletic prowess -- more specifically, how he took a detour on the way to his first-year Contracts course, to sign a free agent contract with the New York Jets! But his achievements on the field shouldn't overshadow his accomplishments on the bench. Judge England isn't just a former college football star; he's also an excellent judge. (For one reader's rave, click here, then scroll down to item #7.)

Due to other commitments of the very busy Judge England -- who teaches at McGeorge School of Law, serves as president of the Anthony M. Kennedy Inn of Court, and performs extensive community service, in addition to his work as a judge -- the interview will not be starting immediately. A3G will send her first wave of questions to Judge England next month, and the interview will appear "sometime thereafter."

A3G can't wait to sit down in the blogosphere with Judge England, for what will surely be a fun and fascinating interview. As always, please email her with suggested questions and possible topics for discussion. Thanks in advance for your input!

Mauled by an Article III Bear: Argument Before Judge Easterbrook

Back in this post, Article III Groupie shared the following comments concerning Judge Frank H. Easterbrook (7th Cir.):

"I'd like to write in for Frank Easterbrook for the 'bear' subcategory of Article III hottie," writes one UTR fan. "Not only is Judge Easterbrook large, single, possessed of a deep and growling voice, and hirsute in the extreme, he vacations in Alaska and has been frequently cited as an authority on professional football. Frank Easterbrook: Article III hot bear!" Wow -- A3G is ready to be this bear's honey pot!

Well, it looks like the Article III Bear is on a tear! Via this post at Upper East Sider, you can access a brief audio clip of a recent oral argument before Judge Easterbrook and two of his colleagues, Judge William J. Bauer and judicial hottie Diane S. Sykes. Judge Easterbrook didn't go easy on appellant's counsel -- which was not inappropriate, given the manifestly meritless nature of the appeal -- and Judges Sykes and Bauer were also some pretty tough customers.

You know it's a painful argument when counsel attempts to flee the courtroom in the middle of the proceedings ("Counsel. COUNSEL! Your seat is at counsel's table."). Happy listening!

(Update: It appears that the link for the audio clip may have changed; you can now access the clip via this comment.)

Judicial SIGHT-ation: AMK at NYU!

Article III Groupie aspired to be a more active blogger this week, but the partners-that-be have been keeping her down. She has lots of fun posts in the works, but they're not quite ready just yet. For the time being, she offers up this quick (but tasty!) celebrity sighting of the Honorable Anthony M. Kennedy, in that bastion of blue-state America, New York City.

A UTR correspondent at NYU submitted this luscious item (this past Monday, April 4):

Justice Kennedy was at NYU Law today -- he had a Q & A over lunch and then came in and taught my Con Law class for an hour. We were sworn to keep the contents of the discussion "off those blogs," which I interpreted narrowly, as allowing comment on his dress and demeanor. He wore a very nice dark (I believe charcoal) suit and a maroon tie with a dotted sort of pattern, complete with matching pocket square, which I thought was a nice touch. Little flag pin on the lapel. He looked rather sartorially splendorous, at least compared to the schlubs walking the halls around here.

The best part however, which may have been reported on your pages before, is that he actually keeps a mini-Constitution in the inside pocket of his suit jacket.  He also mentioned having read Hamlet last night in his hotel room since there was nothing else to read (no Gideon's Bible?). Although he is a mumbler, he was very amiable and made the class laugh (only occasionally out of sycophancy) frequently.

Scalia is in town next week (!), but the outrageously high demand for seats at his Q & A means I sadly will not be attending. I'm going to try and crash the class he is guest-teaching.

Most excellent! A3G thanks her reader for this report. To any of you lucky enough to see the Rock Star of One First Street live in concert next week, please do share your observations. They will be most appreciated!

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!