×

A charming Supreme Courtship

My first visit to the Supreme Court of the United States was in summer 1977. I was an intern in the General Counsel’s Office at the United States Department of Transportation. The court’s dining room was rumored to be a good place to eat and was open to the public after 1 p.m., and the rumor proved true.

A fellow intern had managed to get an advance copy of the court’s Bakke decision striking down affirmative action. That was a hot topic at the time, and she pulled off a coup in the days before instant online publication. It is also evidence that there are no secrets, especially in Washington, D.C.

My second brush with SCOTUS was in spring 1979, when I wrote Associate Justice William Rehnquist, inviting him to speak at Albany Law School. I was chair of the Justice Robert H. Jackson Lecture Series, and Rehnquist had clerked for Jackson at the court. To my surprise, Rehnquist accepted.

Jackson was from Jamestown and became a lawyer without going to college, but went one semester to Albany. He had a very good writing teacher in high school who taught that there is nothing more piercing than an Anglo-Saxon verb. Jackson’s opinions are very readable.

Jackson became one of Franklin Roosevelt’s stars in Albany and Washington. After being appointed to SCOTUS, he took a leave to be the chief prosecutor at the Nurnberg War Crimes Trials. I later met his military driver, Maurice Fuchs, who became a Catholic priest after the war.

Fuchs was born in Switzerland and spoke German, which is how he got the job with Jackson. His combat infantry experience in Europe led him to the seminary, and he was a parish priest in Fulton. He gave the invocation, and Rehnquist gave the main speech at the dedication of the Jackson Museum in Jamestown.

Had Jackson gone two semesters to Albany, he might of become president of the United States like William McKinley. Yale Law Professor Fred Roedel (no relation to the Hotel Saranac owner) said there is only two things wrong with legal writing — style and content. So if you want to be a good writer, avoid college and law school.

My next visit to SCOTUS was this spring, as part of a group admission Albany Law School offered. Having retired, it was my best chance of getting past the SCOTUS dining room and into the courtroom. But it required a Certificate of Good Standing from the New York State Supreme Court.

That required re-registering with the state Office of Court Administration and proving I had enough Continuing Legal Education credits. It also required two letters of recommendation from members of the SCOTUS Bar. So the paper chase began, but fortunately, we met the deadline.

One could bring a guest to the admission ceremony, and my brother suggested my grandniece. That meant meeting at the same airport at about the same time and learning how to use a cellphone boarding pass. We met at Reagan Airport and took the Metro to the Capitol South Station.

We walked past the Capitol on our right and the Library of Congress and Supreme Court buildings on our left to our hotel. We dined there on fried chicken and mashed potatoes at $35 each. Then we walked to Union Station and bought tickets for a night tour of Washington — also at $35 each.

We stopped at the Lincoln Memorial, where our guide pointed out an error in the panel containing Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. The “f” in the word “future” had been carved as an “e.” Mistakes can be long lasting, especially when carved in stone.

The next day, April 2, we rose early and marched off to the Supreme Court, where we passed through security and were ushered into a holding room. There we ate breakfast, were briefed and photographed. One of the attendants was curious about Andrew Cuomo.

Our guests were seated in the back of the courtroom, and we were seated in the front behind two groups of military lawyers. At 10 o’clock, seven of the nine justices appeared, with Justices Breyer and Alito missing.

Justice Thomas read a summary of his majority (5-4) opinion in the Encino Motors case. This was amazing for two reasons. He actually spoke, and he switched from narrowly interpreting the law to “fairly” doing so.

Then Chief Justice Roberts asked each group to stand. Two brigadier generals read the names of the military lawyers, who were mainly white males. Our group was both male and female, black and white, and our female Dean and President Patricia Ouilette read our names.

Chief Justice Roberts swore in each group. (Justice Kagan smiled at our group approvingly.) We then left for more pictures on the front steps and a celebratory lunch at our hotel. A few days later, I got a letter from the court saying I could sit in a special place in the courtroom and use the library.

The letter mentioned nothing about being able to argue before the court. But it was still a kick in the pants to be sworn into the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Paul Herrmann is a retired lawyer who lives in Saranac Lake.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.75/week.

Subscribe Today