As reflected in our prior coverage, we are strangely obsessed with Nina Totenberg, the distinguished legal affairs correspondent for NPR. She’s the subject of our latest “Eyes of the Law” celebrity sighting.

Okay, seeing Nina Totenberg at the Supreme Court may not sound super-exciting. But bear with us. From a tipster:

[On Tuesday] I was sworn in as a member of the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court…. I was first in the row of seating. Six inches, literally, away from me were the desks of the press covering the case.

At about 9:54 AM, in comes a lady in an extremely bright orange suit, who takes her place in the press row directly facing me. She is now about six inches away from me, though I am facing forward, and she is facing my profile (she’s pretty good-looking in person, actually).

Totenberg has an uncanny ability to enter the courtroom just in the nick of time. See here.

Anyway, the first case for argument was Davis v. FEC. Representing Davis was a dude named Andrew Herman (or something like that). [Ed. note: That’s right; see Tony Mauro’s report.]

I learned a bit more about him as, upon arrival and settling in, Nina leans over to her seatmate and says ‘Andrew Herman must be scared s**tless. This is his first time arguing a case here.’ Her seatmate must have murmured some sort of concurrence, at which point she says, ‘He truly must be s****ing himself.’”

I suspect Ms. Totenberg was correct, as Mr. Herman’s performance was nothing short of horrific. But who am I to judge — I was just getting sworn in.

Not sure if it is newsworthy, but it made me chuckle to hear a lady whose voice I have listened to on the radio for the past fifteen years use such colorful language — 15 feet from the bench.

A great story — but is it accurate? We contacted Totenberg, who confirmed in part and denied in part:

Well, part of [this story] is true. I did not say, nor would I ever say: “s***ting himself.” That is a truly disgusting expression. And my assumption is that anyone arguing for the first time must be pretty scared. But usually, though not always, a first appearance does not have a full gallery.

Maybe Totenberg described Herman as “scared witless” and “hitting himself”?

In any event, murmured profanity at One First Street is no big deal. Those justices have been around the block a time or two. But a bright orange suit? That may be another story.