Underneath Their Robes

Better Late Than Never: Brett Kavanaugh Confirmed to the D.C. Circuit

When Brett Kavanaugh was first nominated to the D.C. Circuit, he wasn't even married. Now he and his wife -- Bush's personal secretary, Ashley Estes -- have a college-age daughter.

(Okay, fine, it hasn't been that long. But Brett and Ashley's daughter, Margaret, is almost nine months old.)

After three long years, Brett Kavanaugh (AMK/OT 1993) -- a former law clerk to Judge Walter K. Stapleton and Judge Alex Kozinski, both of whom testified before the Senate on his behalf -- has been confirmed to the D.C. Circuit. The vote was 57-37. Congratulations, Judge Kavanaugh!

It's a good time of year to be joining the D.C. Circuit. Those judicial mandarins take the summer off -- just like the Supreme Court, a common destination for D.C. Circuit members. So Judge Kavanaugh will have a few months to get his chambers up and running before oral arguments start.

The rumor mill is saying that Kavanaugh may pick up some of the displaced Luttig clerks for next year. Can anyone confirm?

Judge Edward R. Becker, R.I.P.

On the afternoon of Friday, May 19, 2006, Judge Edward R. Becker (3d Cir.) passed away. As noted by Howard Bashman, Judge Becker was "a giant of the law and a wonderful man." In the words of Professor Orin Kerr, Judge Becker was "brilliant, fair, tremendously thoughtful, and always scholarly. A real mensch." 

Judge Becker was one of the federal judiciary's most distinguished and most colorful members. He will be deeply missed -- especially by his former law clerks, in whom he inspired tremendous devotion.

The New York Times obituary can be accessed here. Some excerpts:

Edward R. Becker, a former chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and a highly respected jurist admired for his powerful decisions and personal humility, died Friday afternoon at his home in northeast Philadelphia, where he had lived almost all his life. He was 73.

The cause was prostate cancer, said his executive assistant of 25 years, Trish Kowalski...

[Senator Arlen] Specter called Judge Becker the "101st senator" for the power that his rulings had in shaping federal law. His written opinions, which bore no political stamp, often guided the Supreme Court and Congress and shaped new law on issues including the reliability of scientific evidence and the rationale for class-action suits....

He always rode the elevated train from his home in the Frankford section of the city to the courthouse on Market Street. He was known for a lack of grandiosity rarely found in federal court. A former clerk, Marci A. Hamilton, now of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, once observed that "the judge greets his new clerks on their first day with a single rule: 'no deference.' "...

[Judge Becker] had an ability to play almost any song by ear, and he became the unofficial pianist for the Supreme Court at their periodic sing-alongs. "I've never heard anyone call for a tune the judge didn't know," Justice David H. Souter said.

Here are more fun facts and interesting tidbits about Judge Edward Becker:

1. He loved the intellectual challenge of the law -- as one can tell from his long, scholarly, footnote-laden opinions -- and he loved spending time with his clerks. In years past, he would go out for late-night Chinese food with them, where they would engage in spirited debate about cases and issues.

2. Judge Becker was a famously aggressive, sometimes cantankerous questioner of attorneys at oral argument. He always enjoyed the intellectual sparring of oral argument -- unlike many other judges, who sometimes tire of it after years on the bench -- and he kept lawyers on their toes.

On one occasion, an attorney -- let's call her "Sarah Cantori" -- was propounding a theory of jurisdiction that Judge Becker viewed as insufficiently rigorous. He asked her, eyebrow arched: "Isn't this just the 'Cantori Gestalt Theory' of federal jurisdiction?"

3. Judge Becker could be tough; but he was also compassionate. He had a remarkable memory for personal details about people, perhaps developed during his time in politics.

On one occasion, an attorney whose wife had passed away some time ago appeared for argument before Judge Becker. It was the first time Judge Becker had seen the attorney since his wife's passing, and Judge Becker offered his condolences -- even though over a year had passed since her death.

4. Judge Becker was a feeder judge, and not a passive one. He had personal friendships with several of the justices (e.g., Justice Breyer), and he would get on the horn to promote his clerks to them.

Finally, here are a few additional links (gavel bang: How Appealing):

--the death notice for Judge Becker;

--the Philadelphia Inquirer obituary (noting his nickname, "the King of Footnotes");

--the Philadelphia Daily News obituary (quoting Ann Meredith, a friend of Judge Becker: "He could so easily live in an elitist world. Instead he tromps around in shabby clothes, a ridiculous coat that he has some Yiddish word for and a cabdriver hat.... He answers his own phone a lot. He's always accessible.").

Article III Groupie can confirm this last fact. Back when she was applying for clerkships, she called Judge Becker's chambers to ask some minor logistical question about submitting her materials. You can imagine her surprise -- and terror! -- when Judge Becker answered the chambers phone.

A3G could barely speak, and she can't remember much about the conversation. All she can recall is that Judge Becker emphasized strict adherence to the hiring timetable in effect at the time (even if other judges were less meticulous).

Let's close with the distinctive words of judicial hottie Marjorie O. Rendell, one of Judge Becker's longtime colleagues: "He probably just rode the El to heaven."

"The Elect": Are They Worth It?

Okay, maybe it won't trigger your workplace "porn alarm." But Article III Groupie "knows it when she sees it," and this is obscene.

A3G wrote this self-pitying rant almost two years ago. Some of you viewed A3G's remarks as exaggerated and over the top. What do you think now?

SIGH...

A Quick Housekeeping Announcement

Much thanks to all of you who responded to Article Three Groupie's call for assistance. She hasn't had the chance yet to go through all of your submissions, but she will be doing so shortly. She'll let you know as soon as she's had the chance to review everything she has received.

Thank you for your support!

In Search of Judicial Hotties?

To readers of SpartanTailgate, who have come to this blog in search of hot federal judges, here are the links you're looking for:

Too Sexy For Their Robes: The Nominees for Superhotties of the Federal Judiciary!

Bodacious Babes of the Bench: The Female Superhotties of the Federal Judiciary!

Big Swinging Gavels: The Male Superhotties of the Federal Judiciary!

Thanks for dropping by!

Random Fun Facts About Brett Kavanaugh

Yesterday Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the all-powerful D.C. Circuit was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, by a 10-8, party-line vote. This followed on the heels of Kavanaugh's recent testimony before the Committee on Wednesday, as part of his second confirmation hearing.

Kavanaugh, of course, is a member of the Elect; he clerked for Judges Walter Stapleton and Alex Kozinski, en route to Justice Kennedy (OT 1993). Via the Washington Post, here are some fun facts about him:

--"Kavanaugh's ties to Bush were strengthened when he played a major role in the legal battle over Florida's fiercely contested 2000 presidential vote. He later joined the White House counsel's office and then became staff secretary, where he oversees all paper that goes into the Oval Office. Two years ago, he married Bush's personal secretary, Ashley Estes.

--"His mother, Martha, was a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge. His father, Edward, also a lawyer, headed the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association for two decades."

A UTR source commented to A3G: "I wasn't surprised to hear that [Kavanaugh's] dad was a lawyer for the cosmetics industry. Did you see how much make-up Kavanaugh's mom wore to his hearing?"

With all due respect to Judge Martha Kavanaugh -- who is surely a superb jurist and an amazing mother -- A3G can't help noting:

Wearing excessive make-up is so state-court-judge...

More on Judge Luttig Flying Off to Boeing

As one of you noted in the comments to this post, Jess Bravin and J. Lynn Lunsford's article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal is a "must read." (Gavel bang for pass-through link: How Appealing.)

(Random bit of trivia: as noted here, Bravin is the brother of one of the Elect, Eric Bravin, who clerked for Justice Ginsburg during October Term 2000.)

Here are some highlights from the article:

On Nov. 22, U.S. Circuit Judge J. Michael Luttig was at work in his chambers here when he received a telephone call telling him to switch on the television. There, he saw Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announce that the government would file charges against Jose Padilla in a federal court -- treating the accused terrorist like a normal criminal suspect.

The judge was stunned. Two months earlier, he had written a landmark opinion saying the government could hold Mr. Padilla without charge in a military brig. (Read the opinion.) The decision validated President Bush's claim that he could set aside Mr. Padilla's constitutional rights in the name of national security. The judge assumed the government had a compelling reason to consider the suspect an extraordinary threat. Now Mr. Gonzales wanted the courts to forget the whole case.

It didn't take long for the judge's anger to burst out into the open. The next month he wrote that moves such as the attorney general's cast doubt on the Bush administration's "credibility before the courts." Judge Luttig tried to block Mr. Padilla's transfer to civilian custody from the brig. (Read the opinion.) The administration's top litigator fired back that the judge "defies both law and logic."

The clash, which underscores the increasing skepticism among even some conservative jurists toward the Bush administration's sweeping theories of executive power, culminated yesterday in Judge Luttig's resignation. The 51-year-old judge, once considered a likely Bush nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, stepped down from his lifetime seat on the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to start a new career in Chicago as general counsel for Boeing Co.

WOW. As one of you accurately noted in an email to A3G, Luttig comes off in the article as alternating between "petty and principled."

And check out this, from later on in the article (after a lengthy recitation of the procedural history of the Padilla case, which A3G will spare you):

People familiar with Judge Luttig's thinking say he knew his condemnation of the administration [in one of his Padilla opinions] would bring a personal cost but he believes that judges must apply the law regardless of its political implications. These people say he has been disillusioned by the encroachment of politics on the judiciary -- and the view that judges are on "our team" or "their team."

People close to the Bush administration see it differently. They dismiss Judge Luttig's opinion as a judicial tantrum, noting that it came after he was passed over three times for a Supreme Court position. President Bush nominated Judge Roberts, Harriet Miers (who withdrew) and Judge Samuel Alito.

Interesting, interesting stuff... More to come, as A3G goes through her inbox...

Breaking: The Original Luttigator Is Outta Here!

Judge J. Michael Luttig, perennial Supreme Court short-lister and feeder judge extraordinaire, is stepping down from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He's heading off to become vice president and general counsel of Boeing. KA-CHING!

Details here (Legal Times) and here (Washington Post). WOW!!!

Article III Groupie's guess as to Judge Luttig's thinking: "Since it's looking increasingly unlikely that I'll get a Supreme Court nomination anytime soon, I'm packing up my toys and going home. Hasta luego!"

(Of course, Judge Luttig could still get nominated to the SCOTUS from Boeing; but it would be much less likely.)

The text of Judge Luttig's resignation letter to President Bush -- which has a paean to Boeing that sounds like it was ripped straight out of the company's annual report -- is available here (pdf; via Law Blog). Here's an excerpt:

The Boeing Company is an American icon. There is just something larger than life about the company. From the global travel it enables through its commercial aircraft, to the contributions that it makes to our military preparedness and space exploration, its work and its products completely capture the imagination.

And earnings-per-share for the first quarter of 2006 increased 33 percent, to $0.88 per share, while net income increased 29 percent, to $692 million...

Inquiring minds want to know: What will happen to his current clerks? And what about the ones he's hired for the coming judicial year?

A3G's guess: the current Luttigators don't have that much time before they have to report for the start of October Term 2006 -- maybe just a few weeks. So they can just take a nice little vacation, basking in the glory of their imminent apotheosis to the Court, and resting up for the rigors of life at One First Street.

As for the hired-but-not-yet-started Luttig clerks, who will never get to call themselves "Luttigators," they'll probably have to scramble for new jobs. But given their credentials and brilliance, it shouldn't be too hard for them to find gainful employment. (A3G would be happy to hire one of them as her intern.)

If you're in a position to provide more detail on the Luttig resignation, in addition to what appears in news accounts and Judge Luttig's letter, please email A3G. Comments from Luttigators -- many of whom are UTR readers and sources -- are especially welcome.

More to come -- as Drudge likes to say, "developing..."

A UTR Reform Plan

As Article III Groupie previously explained, changed circumstances prevent her from devoting as much time to Underneath Their Robes as she would like. In order for this blog to maintain its position as a leading source of news and gossip about the federal judiciary, A3G needs your help, which she now respectfully requests.

This post describes the reforms A3G will be instituting here at UTR, which are designed to ensure a steady stream of content for this blawg. In the blogosphere, lengthy blogging hiatuses -- like the ones that A3G took in November 2005 and March 2006 -- cannot be tolerated.

So here is what A3G pleadingly asks of her readership, in order to keep this blog alive and kicking:

1. Intern Assistance. A3G expects to do most of her UTR blogging in the evening. Unfortunately, she no longer has the time to scour dozens of newspapers and blawgs for the raw material for her blogging.

So what A3G needs is an intern to collect this material for her and serve it up on a silver platter, in a daily "linkwrap" post, which would be published on UTR. It would be comparable to the round-ups that Liz Aloi does at SCOTUSblog (e.g., this post) or that Henry Seltzer does at Wonkette (e.g., this post), but narrowly focused on federal judicial news and gossip. 

Interested in helping out? If so, please make your case, and then email A3G (subject line: "Internship"). Please do so on or before Friday, May 12.

Why should you volunteer to be A3G's intern? First, if you're a reader of this blog, you probably already follow judicial news and gossip closely -- this wouldn't involve much additional work. Second, there may be a modest stipend involved. Third, you may have the opportunity to do more original, non-round-up blogging at UTR. If you have some interesting and original ideas for judicial gossip blogging, A3G is happy to let you use UTR as a platform for executing them.

Note: This additional writing would happen on a case-by-case basis, with the prior approval of A3G. The egotistical A3G does not want to get upstaged by her understudy, a la Margo Channing of All About Eve!

2. Guest Bloggers. Each week, UTR will have a guest blogger, who will blog about that week's developments in federal judicial news. Of course, as a guest blogger, you're not limited to that week's news; you can pretty much blog about whatever you like, as long as you stick to the bread and butter of UTR (gossip and frivolous commentary about federal judges, no substantive legal analysis).

If you have any big or controversial ideas for your UTR guest blogging, please clear them with A3G in advance. Since it's her blog, A3G reserves the unfettered right to edit and even delete what you write -- but she doesn't expect to exercise it much, unless you go off the deep end.

Interested in guest blogging? If so, please email A3G (subject line: "Guest Editorship"), setting forth your qualifications for being an Article III rumor-mongerer. There's no deadline for this -- guest blogger applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.

Note: A3G realizes that some of you may fear adverse professional consequences from publicly trafficking in judicial gossip. So she's happy to allow both her intern and her guest editors to blog under pseudonyms (although she will need to know your true identity).

3. Sponsorship. As A3G mentioned over the weekend, she's now participating in the Google AdSense network. But she's interested in exploring a more profitable arrangement, perhaps with an advertiser that would agree to be UTR's sole and exclusive sponsor.

Although this blog is occasionally salacious, it does generate oodles of publicity (see the links collected in the UTR Press Book, in the left-hand column). If you might be interested in exploring an exclusive sponsorship arrangement, please email A3G (subject line: "Sponsorship").

4. Cross-posting. It's a common practice, engaged in by numerous bloggers who are affiliated with multiple blogs (e.g., Orin Kerr, of OrinKerr.com and the Volokh Conspiracy; Feddie, of Southern Appeal and Confirm Them). There's nothing wrong with it, and A3G will not apologize for it.

Accordingly, in order to provide UTR readers with as much colorful commentary about the federal judiciary as possible, A3G will sometimes cross-post. If you have some objection to the practice of cross-posting, then simply don't click on the proffered links.

Here are a few recent Wonkette posts that may be of interest to readers of this blog:

• The Roberts Court Is In Touch With Its Feelings
• Anna Nicole Smith: One Merry Widow
• Happy Birthday to Justice John Paul Stevens
• Scalia's "Proudest Thing"
• various posts about the "Fingergate" scandal involving Justice Scalia (here, here, here, and here).

Okay, that pretty much sums it up. Article 3 Groupie thanks you for your patience in reading through this lengthy post. She looks forward to working together with you, her beloved readers, on a new and more collaborative UTR.

So let's bang some gavels, swish some robes, and make some noise!

Justice Is Blind: Chloe Schama's Ken Doll, Unmasked

Over the weekend, Article Three Groupie asked for your help with this blind item:

Chloe Schama, wore a red-and-white zebra-print frock. Ms. Schama, 22, writes for The New Republic.  She went to Harvard. She resembles Claire Danes but is prettier. Her father is someone (the historian Simon Schama), as is her boyfriend, a dapper fellow in a tuxedo with slicked blond hair who clerks for a Supreme Court justice.

A3G asked you: Who's the boyfriend? And several of you responded.

As it turns out, Schama's boyfriend is not a Supreme Court clerk. Schama is dating Michael Pyle, who currently clerks for the venerated D.C. Circuit. And not for just any ol' judge, but the Honorable Merrick B. Garland, a.k.a. "the Luttig of the left" (in terms of his track record as a feeder judge).

During this current Term, five Garlandistas are breathing the rarefied air of One First Street. So A3G wouldn't bet against Pyle eventually joining the ranks of the Elect.

Dear Chloe: You have a famous father, a Harvard degree, and dazzling beauty. But you do not yet have the ultimate prize: a boyfriend who is a Supreme Court clerk.

A3G's advice to you: Just be patient. Hold on to your Michael Pyle stock -- he sounds like a real keeper -- and watch it appreciate, until he gets picked up by one of the justices. It's only a matter of time!