SCOTUS Map: January 2015
on Feb 6, 2015 at 3:36 pm
The Supreme Court Justices stayed active in January, crisscrossing the country to receive awards, promote their books, and share their experiences with the public. Here’s a look at where our nine current and three retired Justices traveled last month; on Monday we will take a look at their February travels.
As we noted in the last installment of this feature, Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg both spoke in Washington, D.C., at the annual meeting of the Association of Law Schools. Justice Ginsburg was honored at a luncheon of the AALS Section on Women in Legal Education and spoke on January 3 at a program called “Engendering Equality,” while on January 4 Justice Scalia participated in a panel on “The Role of History in the Federal Courts Canon.”
Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor appeared on January 14 at an event co-sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History and Zócalo Public Square. In front of a standing-room-only crowd, Justice O’Connor looked back at her childhood in the Southwest and her legal career. Arizona State University News reported on some of the highlights.
Meanwhile, on January 15 Justice Samuel Alito traveled to Philadelphia to receive the Judge Edward R. Becker Citizenship Award from the Community College of Philadelphia. Alito, who had served with Becker on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit before his confirmation to the Supreme Court, spent the majority of his half-hour speech remembering his late colleague. The Justice shared life lessons from Becker: “He once gave me this advice about getting a haircut. He said I was wasting time by not working while I was getting a haircut.” The Philadelphia Inquirer covered Alito’s appearance.
On January 20, retired Justice John Paul Stevens talked about his latest book, Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution, at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Justice Stevens reiterated his opposition to the death penalty and discussed evidence that Texas had executed an innocent man for a 1989 murder. Stevens suggested that this was reason enough for the death penalty to be abolished: “Society should not take the risk that that might happen again.” The Ocala Star Banner covered the Justice’s appearance; the university has also made available the video of his appearance.
On January 27, Justice Scalia received the Benjamin Nathan Cardozo Memorial Award from the Tau Epsilon Rho Law Society and the Jewish Federation of Collier County Cardozo Society in Naples, Florida. The News-Press covered the event; there is also a short video clip in which Justice Scalia discusses the difference between a good judge and a bad judge.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor spent some time in the Beehive State at the end of January, delivering the keynote speech for the University of Utah’s MUSE Theme Year on Justice on January 28 and appearing at a Utah Association for Justice luncheon and book signing on January 29. Sotomayor, who frequently leaves the stage at events to mingle with the audience, delighted students at the University of Utah by posing for group photos while answering questions. The Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune both reported on her visit; video of her speech is also available.
