Underneath Their Robes

UTR Discovery Request: What Is Harriet Miers Reading?

Now it's time for a break from UTR's copious SCOTUS speculation. A reader recently sent Article III Groupie a link to the AP photograph at right, along with this email:

a3g, while i'm sure you're busy dealing with real issues like the next supreme court nominee, i'm still trying to follow good ol' harriet (you know, i wouldn't want to upset specter & have him think i was denying harriet's due process). i stumbled across this image & thought you'd be the perfect detective to solve my quandry.

clearly, from the picture, harriet has bought a new book -- 20% off nonetheless (at least we know she's thrifty!) -- to help her cope with her supreme court withdrawal. while i want to think it's a self-help or motivational book, the cover looks a lot like dan brown's "da vinci code." so what's she reading?

Does anyone know the answer to this question? A3G does see a resemblance to the Da Vinci Code, and she wouldn't be surprised to learn that Harriet Miers has picked up that book, given HEM's weakness for books that are "guilty pleasures" (which A3G discussed back in this post).

But A3G doesn't think that the Da Vinci Code is Harriet's purchase -- if you click on the photo and take a closer look, you'll see that the title lettering on Miers's book starts too far down the page. If you think you might know the book that Harriet bought, please post a comment to this post. Thanks!

UTR Discovery Request: Chief Justice Roberts's Clerks

Several UTR readers have inquired into the identities of Chief Justice John G. Roberts's law clerks. As previously reported in this blog, Chief Justice Roberts has hired (1) Mark Mosier, Ann O'Connell, and Michael Passaportis, who were the late Chief Justice Rehnquist's final three clerks; and (2) Dan Kearney and Kosta Stojilkovic, who clerked for JGR on the D.C. Circuit in 2004-05.

These queries reminded Article III Groupie that she has not issued celebrity profiles of Dan and Kosta, like the ones that she issued for all of the other current Supreme Court clerks (conveniently collected in this post). So it's time for a UTR Discovery Request: Please email A3G with juicy tidbits, fun facts, and fabulous photos of Dan and Kosta. Much thanks!

UTR Discovery Request: "Hot" Clerkships

As she has previously done on behalf of writers and reporters, Article III Groupie hereby issues another UTR discovery request to her readership. Here it is:

My name is Adrianna Khoo and I am a reporter for a new legal magazine called Lawdragon. A3G has agreed to help me send out my plea for help on a fun little piece on the hottest clerkships. I’m trying to get comments on which judges are attracting the best graduating law students and why.

I’ve been having difficulty finding people to let me in on the gossip among their peers as to which clerkships are most coveted, but you don’t have to speak to where you sent your personal applications or even who you personally like the best. I’m just looking for fun tidbits from the general buzz and talk among peers on topics such as who are the renowned “feeder judges,” who treats clerks like their own children, who takes clerks snowboarding, or if it's true that a certain judge tells his clerks not to bring family to town because they won’t see the light of day, etc.

If you are a graduating law student, a clerk, young associate, firm hiring partner or anyone else who can help, please contact me at (213) 223-2433 or by email. Also, if you have landed your dream clerkship, I’d love to hear about your choice. You can view our publication at www.lawdragon.com. I would greatly appreciate any help.

The article that Ms. Khoo is working on sounds like it will be fascinating and fun. If you can provide assistance, please give her a call or shoot her an email. Reading news articles (and blog posts) is informative and enjoyable. But in order to make them possible, we all have to do our part to contribute to the pool of knowledge, by serving as sources when we possess valuable information.

By the way, thanks to everyone who responded, in comments and via email, to this plea for help from a UTR reader. A3G is pleased to report that the situation has been resolved in satisfactory fashion, thanks to excellent advice received from some of you. So pat yourselves on the back for a job well done!

A Judicial SIGHT-ation Tomorrow: The Red Mass

Details here (Oct. 2 entry) and here. The annual Red Mass is always a great source of judicial sightations. For the UTR write-up of last year's Red Mass, click here.

Justice Antonin Scalia is expected to be in attendance at tomorrow's Mass. The Rock Star of One First Street was unable to attend Thursday's swearing-in of Chief Justice Roberts because he was in Avon, Colorado, teaching this CLE course sponsored by the Federalist Society. But Justice Scalia did make plans to return to D.C. in time for the Red Mass, which he attends every year.

To any Washington-based readers who can attend tomorrow, please keep your eyes peeled for any and all judicial celebrities. Pay special attention to what they are wearing and how they comport themselves during Mass (e.g., see if anyone falls asleep during Cardinal McCarrick's homily). Then write up your observations, and email A3G straight away!

(By the way, thanks to the many readers who responded to A3G's request for reports on the Breyer-Scalia event at Harvard Law School. She received tons of great material, and she'll be blogging about it shortly.)

"Mom, Can I Ask You... A Personnel Question?"

Article III Groupie doesn't just dish judicial dirt -- hey, say that ten times fast -- here at UTR. Occasionally she does something that is vaguely helpful for her readers (assuming, of course, you don't believe gossip is good for you).

Recently a longtime fan of this blog emailed A3G asking for some advice. A3G did not know what to tell this reader, but she would like to turn over the query to her large and knowledgeable readership. Here it is:

Most [district court] chambers are allowed two full-time law clerks, as well as a deputy clerk and secretary. Instead of having a deputy clerk, however, my judge has three law clerks (a permanent and two rotating), who share deputy clerk duties along with the secretary. Unfortunately, one of us must have the title of "deputy clerk" for purposes of payroll in Washington.

While I did not realize this when hired, it has recently come to my attention that serving as a law clerk under the title of "deputy clerk" will not count as a year of legal experience. As such, and to my complete dismay, I will not obtain a pay raise next year. As this is a more recent practice, that determination was just handed down from our clerk's office.

I know from researching judges last summer that at least a few Court of Appeals Judges have the practice of hiring four law clerks and doing without a secretary. [A3G note: Circuit judges are actually entitled to five staff members, either three clerks and two secretaries or four clerks and one secretary.] And I surmise that at least a few other district court judges participate in similar practices as my judge.

I would like to know if others in a similar situation have found a way around this problem.

This situation strikes A3G as unfortunate and unfair. Can anyone offer advice or insight about how to deal with it? If so, please add a comment to this post, or email A3G (and please let her know if, contrary to this blog's default rule regarding the confidentiality of UTR reader email, she can forward your message to the reader who posed this question). Thanks!

P.S. In case you're wondering, yes, the title of this post is a reference to the old television advertisement for this product -- you know, the commercial with the mother and the daughter, walking along the beach...

The Page Six of the Legal World: "Inadmissible"!

Article III Groupie is a longtime fan of Inadmissible, the collection of gossipy or amusing items that appears each week in the Legal Times, the Washington, D.C., legal newspaper. And today's "Inadmissible" column is nothing short of delectable. Here are some of the highlights (alas, subscription required):

1. Top Aides to AG Gonzales Depart Justice. "After just seven months on the job, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' two closest aides -- chief of staff Theodore Ullyot and senior counselor Raul Yanes -- have resigned from their posts at the Justice Department, leading some to speculate that their boss might be slated to fill the open seat on the U.S. Supreme Court."

2. Katrina Damage Moves Clement to Virginia. Judge Edith "Happy Happy Joy Joy" Clement, "whose New Orleans courthouse was damaged by Hurricane Katrina, has set up shop in Charlottesville, where Fourth Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III is also in residence. Clement has family in the area."

According to Tony Mauro's article, after Hurricane Katrina, Judge Clement called up Judge Wilkinson to see if there might be some room at the federal judicial inn. The gentlemanly Judge Wilkinson told her, "You bet there is, and we’d be mighty glad to have you here."

A UTR Discovery Request: Do Judge Clement and her clerks go running with Judge Wilkinson and his clerks? And if so, who is the faster of the two judges? Both Judge Edith Brown Clement and Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson have been talked about as possible replacements for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Perhaps the two judges can participate in a 100-meter race, with Justice O'Connor's seat going to the jurist who is more fleet of foot?

3. O'Connor Preps for New Supreme Court Term. This is the best item of all, since it includes a shout-out from Tony Mauro to A3G! A3G will be adding it to the "UTR Press Book" in the left-hand column of her blog, where A3G collects mainstream media mentions of UTR. (A "press book" is where a fashion designer compiles magazine clips about her work -- e.g., where Behnaz Sarafpour collects the flattering write-ups about her collections that regularly run in Anna Wintour's Vogue.)

Mauro has the following report:

A sure sign that Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is preparing for a longer-than-expected pre-retirement tenure on the Court: She has hired back one of her four law clerks from last term. It’s Yale Law School superstar Tali Farhadian, who joins the three clerks O’Connor had expected to make do with for the term.

Article 3 Groupie enjoyed Mauro's enthusiastic reference to Farhadian as a "Yale Law School superstar." But A3G still prefers the more lyrical description of Farhadian that was previously offered by a UTR reader: "a lush Persian beauty."

After noting that The Return of Tali puts five Garlandistas on the Supreme Court clerk roster for October Term 2005, Mauro gives credit where credit is due:

Farhadian’s rehire was first reported on the gossipy Underneath Their Robes blog, which has become an authoritative source for news about law clerks.

WOW -- A3G is very flattered! Tony Mauro, a distinguished legal commentator, just referred to her blog as "an authoritative source for news." And in even higher praise, he described it as "gossipy"!

As reflected in his affectionate UTR nickname, "the Liz Smith of One First Street," Mr. Mauro knows good gossip when he sees it. In fact, no less an authority than Justice Antonin Scalia has so held. Back in 2000, Justice Scalia lashed out at the Legal Times reporter, condemning one of Mauro's stories as "gossipy, titillating and characteristically Mauronic."*

A3G is so jealous of Mr. Mauro -- a sitting justice of the Supreme Court has mocked him in schoolyard fashion, by making fun of his last name! Why can't a Supreme Court justice make fun of her? Being noticed by the highest of judicial deities, even in a negative way, would make A3G's life complete. Perhaps the famously circumspect Justice David H. Souter could issue a press release branding A3G an "impudent harlot," "a loose and overruling woman," "an imperious lewd woman," or some combination thereof. How cool would that be?

* In an online discussion with Dahlia Lithwick of Slate, Mauro had the following reaction (email #4) to Justice Scalia's remarks: "[M]y parents think I should respond to the good justice. They kind of like the name Mauro and don't enjoy seeing it abused. The last time my name was turned into an adjective was when I was in fourth grade, when other classmates also called me Tony Macaroni."

A special message to Justice Scalia: If you ever need someone to attack, you can insult A3G any day of the week! (Truth be told, a big part of her actually enjoys being abused -- which is why she's such a successful law firm associate...)

Judicial SIGHT-ation: Justice Scalia at Juilliard?

And now, a judicial-sightation-cum-discovery-request. Article III Groupie is wondering the same thing as PG of Crescat Sententia. To the New Yorkers in UTR's readership: Was anyone at this event, and if so, what did Justice Scalia discuss in his remarks?

With all due respect to the brilliant and hilarious Justice Antonin Scalia, he is best known for his superbly written judicial opinions, not for his views on the arts (although he does have a well-known love for the opera). In terms of Justice Scalia's prior pronouncements on the arts, in addition to the items identified by PG, A3G immediately thought of Nino's remarks at the oral argument of Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition. Dahlia Lithwick offered this account of the argument:

Justice Scalia is the standard bearer for the all-child-copulation-is-obscene-garbage school of jurisprudence today. As the court debates the artistic and social merits of simulated sex between minors in movies such as Traffic, Lolita, or Titanic, Scalia snaps: “I don’t know whether they depict simulated sexual activity or not. I didn’t see any of those movies.” Later, he pillories Louis Sirkin, counsel to the pornographers, with, “I’m trying to think of what works of art would be taken away from us if I can’t see adolescents copulating.”

Sirkin offers him a who’s who of art-house classics: “Lolita, Tin Drum, Traffic, Brooke Shields movies that maybe some people don’t enjoy ...” Scalia, clearly in the “some people” camp, sneers back that none of these are great works of Western art. When [Justice] Stevens tries to give Sirkin a hand, suggesting Romeo and Juliet as a helpful example of tasteful kiddie porn, Scalia turns on him too. “Gee, you’ve seen a different version than me,” he laughs.

So, was anyone at the Juilliard School event earlier this afternoon? What did Justice Scalia talk about? And did he ask not to be seated next to Stephen Sondheim -- the openly gay musical theater composer, who most definitely engages in sodomy* -- based on "cooties avoidance" concerns?

A3G would be most grateful for a full report on the proceedings. Much thanks!

* Apparently Sondheim isn't the only one. (Gavel bang: Gawker.)

A Little Non-Roberts Nomination Gossip

Earlier this week, Article III Groupie passed along the rumor that Gregory Van Tatenhove, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, would be nominated to the district bench. Sure enough, the rumor is now reality.*

A3G would like to reiterate her prior requests for delicious gossip about judicial nominations. Her readers are dying to learn more about possible new federal judges from around the country. Consider this message:

I noticed that you're focusing on future vacancies in the Tenth and Third Circuits, but you should also note that there are many more actual vacancies in the federal judiciary. Many of these vacancies have no nominees. Note in particular that there are four vacancies in the very overworked Ninth Circuit, and only one has a nominee: William Myers, who was one of the two filibustered nominees left in the filibuster as a part of the "gang of 14" agreement, and thus is unlikely to be confirmed. I find it hard to imagine that Bush isn't in the preliminary stages of finding nominees for the remaining three slots. Might be worth putting out a discovery request to see what names are being batted about...

If you have any such information, concerning possible nominees to any Article III court, please email A3G forthwith.

It goes without saying that A3G welcomes gossip about possible nominees to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. UTR sources identify two contenders as ones to watch: (1) Judge Prisicilla Owen (5th Cir.), a.k.a. The Lone Star Diva, who recently had a secret sit-down with President Bush (as reported by Robert Novak, of L'affaire Plame fame, who correctly predicted the SOC retirement); and (2) Miguel Estrada, a.k.a. The Kid from Tegucigalpa, who is like "a Latino Roberts -- brilliant, conservative, but hard to nail down without the SG documents (which the Roberts nomination precedent has now established as out-of-bounds)."

Article 3 Groupie has blogged about Judge Owen extensively in the past (here and here). A3G is collecting information for a more detailed post about Miguel Estrada, so she'll have more to say about him in the not-too-distant future. She welcomes contributions from her readers, for which she is always grateful (despite her unfortunate inability to respond to most email that she receives, due to the volume of submissions).

* Some might note that A3G posted about Mr. Van Tatenhove's possible nomination only hours before it was publicly announced, perhaps making it less of a scoop. In her defense, however, she would point out that she received this gossip sometime last week -- it just took her a little while to publish.

UTR Discovery Request: ACS National Convention

This weekend, in Washington, D.C., the American Constitution Society (ACS) is holding its 2005 National Convention. For those of you who are not familiar with it, the ACS is the left-wing's answer to the Federalist Society.

Check out the ACS Convention's star-studded line-up -- oodles and oodles of federal judges will be in attendance! (Notably absent: Second Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi, who got himself into some hot water with his controversial remarks at last year's conference.) Panelists at this year's ACS conference -- mostly liberals, but with a few conservatives thrown in for good measure -- include the following Article III boldface names:

--two high-powered former D.C. Circuit judges, Judge Abner Mikva, who served as White House Counsel in the scandal-plagued Clinton administration, and Judge Patricia Wald, "a little woman with a big sense of style";

--Judge Rosemary Barkett, who has taken up Judge Phyllis Kravitch's mantle as liberal lionness of the Eleventh Circuit;

--two judicial superhotties from the Ninth Circuit, Judge Alex Kozinski and Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw (who is simply fabulous);

--three members of the Elect who now sit on that notoriously liberal court: Judge Raymond Fisher, Judge William Fletcher (a fast-rising feeder judge), and the all-powerful She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named;

--her partner in crime, the grandfather of liberal judicial activism, the Emperor Palpatine;

--from the next generation of bench-based activists, Judge Nancy Gertner (D. Mass.), who is also a judicial hottie (see item #2);

--Judge Boyce F. Martin, Jr. (6th Cir.), the sworn enemy of the well-regarded conservative jurist, Judge Danny J. Boggs (6th Cir.); and

--two brilliant former legal academics who might someday sit on the Supreme Court: in a Republican administration, the well-dressed Judge Michael McConnell (10th Cir.), and in a Democratic administration, Judge Diane Wood (7th Cir.). (Judge McConnell and Judge Wood are both members of the Elect, of course.)

Please email Article Three Groupie with sight-ations from the ACS Convention, which sounds like it will be a fantastic event for judicial celebrity sightings. Please pay particular attention to the judges' attire and eating habits, and listen carefully for funny anecdotes and good gossip. (The conference proceedings will be covered by the ACS Blog, but A3G expects their coverage to focus on substance rather than style.)

A3G discussed last year's Federalist Society Convention in loving detail; she'd like to give the ACS Convention similarly lavish treatment in the pages of her blawg (despite her ideological disagreements with the ACSers). She thanks you in advance for your tidbits and contributions!

Just Another Manic Monday

Article III Groupie continues to be oppressed at work, so she'll have to keep things brief today.

First, much to A3G's disappointment -- and the disappointment of her fellow Article Three groupies who camped out overnight to get seats in the courtroom -- the final day of the Supreme Court Term came and went, without any exciting retirement news. Of course, the lack of an announcement today doesn't necessarily mean that all nine justices will be back for October Term 2005. Supreme Court justices frequently announce their retirements at times other than the last day of the Term (see here). So perhaps Chief Justice Rehnquist or Justice O'Connor, the two most likely justices to retire, will make a retirement announcement later in the summer (or perhaps not).

(Can we glean any intelligence from recent law clerk hiring news? Time for a UTR Discovery Request: Has Justice O'Connor hired a fourth clerk yet for OT 2005?)

Second, an update to A3G's immediately preceding post: if you're curious about what happened on Letterman last Thursday, in terms of judicial sight-ations, you can read about it here and here.