Dining With the Diva: Lunch with Judge Janice Rogers Brown (Part 1)

Ed. note: Fans of diversity will be pleased to note that this post has nothing to do with (1) Aaron Charney, (2) Biglaw pay raises, or (3) Shanetta Cutlar.

“I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: I am NOT a judicial diva!!!”
(Okay, she didn’t say it quite this emphatically. But Judge Brown did repudiate the “judicial diva” label, when we asked her about it during the Q-and-A session.)
Some time ago — we’re too embarrassed to mention when — we attended a lunch talk here in Washington with Judge Janice Rogers Brown, of the D.C. Circuit. As we’ve previously noted, Judge Brown is a leading judicial diva and possible Supreme Court nominee.
It was a great event, and we took lots of pictures, of the impressively poor quality that you’re used to here at ATL. Our write-up, with pics, after the jump.



The event was part of the Federalist Society’s lunchtime speaker series. It was held at Tony Cheng’s, in the heart of Chinatown.

Judge Brown was introduced by Gibson Dunn partner Douglas Cox, of the Federalist Society’s D.C. Chapter. In his introduction, he made a few partisan jabs at the Democrats, which were received with laughter (albeit awkward laughter, since the Society is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that isn’t supposed to take political stances).
Some of Cox’s more memorable lines:

1. In two years, “we could be a week into a second Clinton presidency” — which Cox described as a “chilling vision of the future.”

2. After mentioning the tidbit — from Jan Crawford Greenburg’s new book, Supreme Conflict — that David Souter, before he was nominated to the Supreme Court, drank the only bottle of wine in J. Michael Luttig’s house, Cox asked: “But what was Justice O’Connor drinking when she wrote Grutter?”

3. Cox eventually turned to introduction of Judge Janice Rogers Brown. His remarks hinted at her diva-licious nature, acknowledging her muscular jurisprudence and vigorous writing style. He described her outspoken manner as “both frightening and refreshing.” We agree.

4. Cox noted that Janice Rogers Brown previously served on the California Supreme Court, where she was a “Justice.” He closed by expressing the hope that President Bush “will give her old title back.”

“Dean Reuter, if you’re going to pass notes while Doug Cox is speaking, you’ll have to read it to the entire room.”

Judge Brown was very well-dressed. We’d compare her style of “conservatism with flair” to that of Condoleezza Rice, but then someone would call that racist.
No black robe for her! Judge Brown was wearing an elegant, impeccably tailored, black wool-knit suit, with gold buttons and trim. The skirt was demure, falling below the knee. We’re going to guess it was a St. John.
She accessorized this look with gold earrings; they nicely picked up the gold trim on the suit. Occasionally the gold would glitter in the track lighting. Bling bling!
Judge Brown’s hair was looking great. Following the advice of ATL readers, she had it styled in “Wanda Sykes” fashion.

Talk about “Double Happiness”: Two dragons in one photograph!

Ok, that’s all for now. The rest of our pictures, along with additional comments on the event, will follow in a later post. Check back soon!
Calendar of Lawyer Division Events [Federalist Society]
Fili-BUSTED! Magnificent Judicial Divas [UTR]
Earlier: Janice Rogers Brown: Methinks the Diva Doth Protest Too Much
The Courtroom of Style: Judge Janice Rogers Brown

Sponsored