I am grateful for the opportunities I have had through Hadassah to go to places that I would not have otherwise visited. I recently went to the U.S Supreme Court as part of a Hadassah sponsored swearing in ceremony for attorneys. Most attorneys do not argue cases in the U.S Supreme Court. The Court only considers 100 – 160 of the 10,000 cases submitted to them. Still, even though I do not anticipate going to the Supreme Court as an attorney to argue a case, there is an honor in being admitted to the Supreme Court Bar and knowing that I would be permitted to argue a case should the chance arise. In order to be admitted to practice in front of the Supreme Court, an attorney has to be sponsored by two attorneys admitted into the Supreme Court. For the last ten years Hadassah has sponsored attorneys who wish to be admitted to the Supreme Court. They arrange the date and assist in the application process. They create a 24 hour trip around the event by having a dinner with speakers the night before and then a whole day of activity at the Supreme Court on the day of the swearing in ceremony. I was fortunate to participate in Hadassah’s trip in 2007.
This year, for the first time, Hadassah invited past participants to return on the trip. I was excited to go again because I learned that Hadassah had invited Elena Kagan, the newest Justice, to speak to the group.
The trip began for me with the dinner on February 22, held at the newly renovated JCC in Washington, DC. I was surprised to find that two of the attorneys who were sworn in on the same day as I was in 2007 also returned for this trip. After a great dinner, we heard from Michael R. Dreeben, deputy solicitor general. Mr. Dreeben argues cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court representing the government of the United States. He gave a terrific speech which was very informative. He told us a bit about the personalities of the Justices and talked about the style of their questions. I found that he had prepared me to hear the oral argument because I saw exactly what he was talking about when some of the Justices asked their questions at the oral argument the next day.
On Wednesday, we met at the Supreme Court at 7:30 in the morning. I was still on California time and set two alarms so that I would not be late. As a member of the Supreme Court, I am permitted to sit in the rows of benches in the court room especially reserved for members of the Supreme Court Bar. So while I was not sitting as close to the lawyers arguing the cases as I had when I was sworn in, I still felt like I was very close to the action. The Court session began with the swearing in of all the attorneys seeking admission that day and then the Court heard two cases. I again felt relieved that I was not there to argue them and was able to observe with a calm state of mind.
After the oral argument, we had lunch at the Supreme Court in the conference room especially reserved for our Hadassah group. After lunch, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan came to the conference room to chat with us. It is extraordinary to see them up close because I feel in awe of them. I think everyone feels the same way.
Justice Ginsburg began by reading a letter that Henrietta Szold wrote to Hayim Peretz in which he offered to say Kaddish for her mother after her mother’s death. At that time, Jewish tradition did not allow women to say Kaddish for their parents. Henrietta thanked Mr. Peretz for the offer but said no thanks. You could tell from the words Henrietta Szold wrote that she was a strong woman and Justice Ginsburg felt inspired by her.
We had an informal question and answer session with the Justices. The Justices were articulate and funny at the same time. Justice Ginsburg has a dry sense of humor. My favorite remark was her response to a question in which she was asked how she felt now that there are two more women on the Supreme Court. She replied, “You saw us up there; Justice Sotomayor is seated on my far right. Justice Kagan is seated on my far left and I am in the middle. We are here to stay!”
To thank the Justices for meeting with us, we gave each of them the Hadassah centennial necklace. The picture above shows Beth Saltzman Aaronson, chair of the attorneys council, and me (Geri Kahn) presenting the necklaces to the Justices.
After our visit with the Justices, we met with Judith Gaskell, the Supreme Court librarian, and William Suter, Clerk of the Supreme Court. They took us on a tour of the Supreme Court law library. I had not seen the library on my previous trip so it was nice to see that. I had another colleague take the picture of me trying to look lawyer-like in the library.
Apparently no trip to the Supreme Court would be complete without seeing the “highest court in the land,” as Mr. Suter called it – referring to the basketball court! Who knew there was a basketball court on the fifth floor of the Supreme Court! We saw people playing and apparently it is used quite a bit not only for basketball but for yoga classes and jazzercise as well.
Our last official stop was to view the portrait of Justice Brandeis. The portraits are rotated throughout the Supeme Court. Susan Woodland, Hadassah’s archivist, gave a talk about Justice Brandeis and the history of how the portrait was made and Hadassah’s role in presenting it to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court trip was again an extremely rewarding experience. I urge those of you who are attorneys (or those of you who know attorneys to encourage them) to go on the trip next year. As Justice Kagan put it, “ The Supreme Court is an example of the federal government working at its best.” It is that and more.
