The Supremes’ Nationwide Tour: Did They Visit Your Law School?
Earlier this week, over at TaxProf Blog, Professor Paul Caron posted an interesting list, assembled from recently filed financial disclosure forms: Law Schools Visited by Supreme Court Justices, 2007. He also took a look at what various law schools paid SCOTUS members for teaching courses, as well as the number of law schools visited by each of the Nine.
We’ve taken a few fun factoids and turned them into a short quiz:
1. Which justice visited the most law schools in 2007?2. Which law school was visited by the most Supreme Court justices in 2007?
3. Which justice earned the most money from teaching law school classes?
Answers appear after the jump.
Correction: As noted in the comments, it appears that the justices are only required to list certain types of law school visits in their financial disclosure forms (e.g., visits for which travel expenses were paid). As a result, some of these numbers may be a bit off. We aren’t 100 percent confident in the answer to question (2).
We don’t think, however, that these errors change the answers to questions (1) and (3) below. Justice Scalia is probably still the justice with the most law-school visits under his belt. And teaching income figures aren’t affected by this issue relating to taxonomy of visits.
1. Which justice visited the most law schools in 2007?
Justice Antonin Scalia. The Rock Star of One First Street loves going on tour. He visited a dozen law schools in 2007: Harvard (his alma mater), McGill, Notre Dame, Pepperdine, St. Mary’s, San Diego, Stetson, Texas, Thomas Jefferson, Toledo, Valparaiso, and Villanova.
2. Which law school was visited by the most Supreme Court justices in 2007?
We would have guessed Harvard. But as it turns out, this honor goes to Yale. As goes U.S. News, so go the justices.
Yale Law School was visited by three justices: Justice Samuel Alito, a Yale alum; Justice Stephen Breyer; and Justice Anthony Kennedy.
3. Which justice earned the most money from teaching law school classes?
Justice Kennedy earned $25,200 for teaching at McGeorge, a law school he has taught at for many years.
It seems the conservatives on the Court are more fond of teaching — or more fond of making money from teaching — than the liberals. Here are what the five more conservative justices earned in total from teaching:
Of the Court’s more liberal four, only Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reported teaching income: $8,500, from Hofstra.
To see the complete tables, which are chock full of interesting info, click here.
Law Schools Visited by Supreme Court Justices, 2007 [TaxProf Blog]
Roberts, Alito Pare Holdings [Wall Street Journal]
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Comments
FIRST to ask which Penn State was Roberts at?
Lat, have you read about the trial that Kozinski is presiding over? Right in your wheelhouse.
Interesting. I know Thomas spoke at the law school in Little Rock, AR and it's not listed. I wonder if there are others this list doesn't include.
Echoing 12:49, didn't Scalia go to Yale in 2007?
Re Kozinski trial:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/10/AR2008061002449_pf.html
"Conservatives on the Court are more fond of teaching -- or more fond of making money from teaching -- than the liberals...."
Surprise surprise, conservatives like $$$....
Roberts taught in our summer Europe program, which is coordinated out of Carlisle by Professor Louis Delduca. Sandra Day O'Connor also taught in the program a few years ago.
As one of the comments on TaxProf points out, these figures aren't exactly right.
There are at least 2 justices who visited GULC in 2007. Breyer visited twice: at a conference and on a panel. And, as I think ATL reported, Scalia spoke to one of the 1L con law sections. O'Connor visited too, but is not included in the tally for obvious reasons. I think Ginsburg, Souter, and Thomas also visited for a conference. I don't know why none of these (other than O'Connor) are in the disclosures, but it seems a pretty big omission.
I'm surprised that the Justices don't teach at more prestigious law schools. Yale's record of 3 visits notwithstanding, it would seem the top schools could, and would, pony up the $15,000-$25,000 it seems to take to have a Justice teach a class or two... Creighton?? Thomas Jefferson?
CUA deserves an honorable mention. We had Alito at graduation, O'Connor for a symposium, and one of the few people who can pull rank on Scalia, His Holiness Pope Benedict. How many Ivy schools were visited by the pontiff?
Maybe they only have to report visits for which they are paid (some reference exists somewhere about how they only have to report trips that they were paid for?)...
You missed UVA on your Scalia list.
The justices report their financial holdings only in broad ranges. They disclose gifts and earnings, as well as some details of reimbursements they receive for travel. [So maybe the only visits that show up are ones where their travel was reimbursed? That would explain why GULC's visits are reported...]
http://www.miamiherald.com/692/story/560890.html
taxprof blog's list is inaccurate or incomplete. for example, Justice Alito judged duke's 2L moot court competition, and therefore was on campus for that event.
Looks like Lat has added a correction to the post.
Scalia's UVA visit was in 2008, not 2007.
Scalia's UVA visit was in 2008, not 2007.
That list is wrong. Breyer visited Georgia in 2007.
Why would Scalia visit Thomas Jefferson? Doesn't that just encourage students to go there and give them false hopes about being gainfully employed anywhere within 10 miles of the Supreme Court?
Why the hell would anybody visit or teach at that shithole school UOP McGeorge?
You left out UVA - scalia came for a couple days, including teaching classes and lecturing (he was accepting an award from the main campus).
I believe that Thomas' wife went to Creighton for law school; if that fact's correct, it's not suprising that he would visit.
At GULC in 2007:
Breyer
http://www.law.georgetown.edu/news/releases/March.15.2007.html
At GW in 2007:
Alito
http://www.law.gwu.edu/News/News+Stories/2007+Van+Vleck.htm
Breyer
http://www.gwu.edu/~newsctr/pressrelease.cfm?ann_id=26647
And I'm sure there are plenty more appearances that don't make the list
I think 2:42 works in structured finance...
This must be excluding DC schools.
At GULC in'07 we had Scalia for Prof Bloch's course, Breyer for a speech, Kennedy for a speech over spring break, Ginsburg for an award, O'Connor for a bunch of visits, including her conference (where she hosted three other justices, but I don't recall who exactly), Roberts for graduation, and who knows who else.
So nice try, Yale & Harvard. GULC wins.
Nice try, Prof Caron. Teach at a better school and it would be obvious to you that justices come through more than a couple of times per year.
The list doesn't seem to include DC area law schools, where the justices frequently visit. Perhaps the list is based on travel, which doesn't include 10 minute trips to Georgetown or GWU.
The list doesn't seem to include DC area law schools, where the justices frequently visit. Perhaps the list is based on travel, which doesn't include 10 minute trips to Georgetown or GWU.
sheesh people, calm down... whether justices visit your school doesn't really reflect at all on how good your school is.
Pepperdine also had three in 2007-2008. Scalia, Alito, and Roberts
Justice Alito visited Duke in 2008 to judge a moot court competition.
GULC!
The "Penn State" Roberts taught at is really Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, PA. The school was annexed by Penn State several years ago. It is not particularly well-known outside Pennsylvania yet consistently ranks in the top 50.