Elena Kagan, Eyes of the Law, Federal Judges, Food, SCOTUS, Supreme Court

The Eyes of the Law: Justices Eat Pizza Too

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Here’s a fun little judicial sight-ation from the weekend. On Saturday night, at around 9 p.m., Justice Elena Kagan was spotted in the elevator of the luxury apartment building in downtown D.C. that she calls home.

According to our tipster, Justice Kagan was wearing “mom jeans.” And carrying a pizza.

The 112th justice of the United States Supreme Court, carrying her own pizza? This is a scandal of the highest order.

A few years ago, we were traumatized by the sight of then-Judge Michael Chertoff carrying his own takeout lunch (see here, item #4). But he was a mere circuit judge, and Elena Kagan is a Supreme Court justice.

Shouldn’t Justice Kagan have one of her clerks deliver pizza to her on Saturday night? It diminishes the dignity of the entire federal judiciary to know that an associate justice of the Supreme Court has to fetch her own pizza.

So, let’s get to the important part: What brand of pizza does Her Honor favor?

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The answer: “We the Pizza.” And no, we’re not making that up — it’s a real establishment, owned by Spike Mendelsohn of Top Chef fame. According to its website, it does not yet offer delivery, so presumably Justice Kagan had to avail herself of the “curbside pickup” option.

(Another possibility: she dined in, and the box contained leftovers. But we refuse to entertain the thought of a high court justice toting a doggie bag.)

UPDATE: For the record, Kagan wasn’t carrying some gigantic pizza pie. Our source describes it as “a small or medium-sized box.”

What does Justice Kagan’s weakness for “We the Pizza” suggest about her jurisprudence? Does the clever pun based on the constitutional text portend a textualist approach? Or does the echoing of “we the people” foreshadow a populist streak in her rulings? Only time will tell.

The final observation from our tipster: Justice Kagan was by herself. No companion, male or female. It sounds like she was enjoying a quiet Saturday night at home, with pepperoni and cert petitions.

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Elena Kagan appears to like dining alone. During her time as Solicitor General, she was often seen at Penn Quarter restaurants by herself, eating dinner and reading briefs. [FN1]

Justice Kagan: If you’re ever looking for an amicus culinarius, please don’t hesitate to call us. We’ll be on the next train down to D.C. faster than you can deny cert to a pro se litigant!

[FN1] Sometimes Lady Kaga paints the town with gal pals. For example, over the summer, then-SCOTUS nominee Kagan was sighted at Equinox — the restaurant, not the gym — with two female friends.

Spike Mendelsohn’s We, The Pizza to Open on July 19 [Young & Hungry / Washington City Paper]
We the Pizza [official website]

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