Finding Justice Alito
For the third consecutive year, a group of second year honors students visited “Legal Washington,” a chance to closely observe the U.S. Supreme Court in action and to meet a rising star in Congress, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.
Here is the summary of the trip from Prof. Diana Hassel:
The visit was the capstone of a six week class covering theories of statutory and constitutional interpretation and analyzing some of the cases before the Court this term.
The students heard the oral arguments in Travelers Indemnity v. Bailey. The case involved the jurisdiction of the bankruptcy court that approved a settlement entered into by Johns Manville to resolve its massive liability for asbestos-caused illness. The students prepared for the arguments by reading the decisions below and the briefs filed by the parties, so they were able to follow the complicated arguments and meaningfully assess the skill of the oral advocates and the comments and questions of the justices.
After the arguments, we toured the Supreme Court building. We were given details about the architecture and history of the building and a description of the design and arrangement of the court room. Justice Alito then met with us in one of the Supreme Court conference rooms. He made brief welcoming remarks and then fielded questions from students. He spoke about many matters, including the workload of the Court, the relationship among the justices, and his own experience during the confirmation process.
The next morning we met with Senator Whitehouse at his office in the Hart Senate Office Building. He discussed what he was currently working on in the Senate, particularly in his role on Judiciary Committee. He also discussed his expectations concerning future judicial nominations, both for the lower federal courts and the Supreme Court. A member of the Senator’s staff then gave us an insider’s tour of the Capitol, which enabled us to see glimpses of the Congress at work.
