Justice Alito Turned Away From Sunday Brunch
Not even the justices are above the law -- the law that you must make reservations for Sunday brunch.
I’m a big fan of Justice Samuel Alito. He’s a brilliant thinker, a tremendous writer, and an incisive questioner (as I learned arguing before him when he sat on the Third Circuit, and as anyone can learn from listening to audio recordings of Supreme Court arguments). I’m also a devotee of his delightful wife, the stylish and vivacious Martha-Ann Alito.
This past weekend, the Alitos returned to his alma mater, Yale Law School, where Justice Alito, Justice Clarence Thomas, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor received the Yale Law School Association’s Award of Merit for their contributions to the legal profession. The three justices then participated in a lively and insightful conversation, skillfully moderated by Professor Kate Stith (and live-tweeted by yours truly; see @ATLblog and @DavidLat).
Members of the audience expressed admiration for Justice Alito and his sly sense of humor. But beyond the ivory tower, not everyone admires the justice — or even has the ability to recognize him.
Data Privacy And Security With Gen AI Models
Earlier today, Justice Alito got bounced out of a brunch joint….
The Alitos remained in the New Haven area after Saturday’s awards ceremony (partly so they could visit the judge for whom Justice Alito clerked, Judge Leonard Garth, who lives in nearby Guilford). This afternoon, Justice Alito tried to grab brunch — but instead of being ushered to a choice table and plied with hot coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice, he got the magistrate-judge treatment. An Above the Law source witnessed the incident:
Sam Alito and his wife came to the restaurant at The Study at Yale Hotel and asked the hostess if they could get in for brunch. She said they were full with reservations and turned him away.
Sponsored
Curbing Client And Talent Loss With Productivity Tech
How Thomson Reuters Supercharged CoCounsel With Gen AI Advances
Data Privacy And Security With Gen AI Models
Curbing Client And Talent Loss With Productivity Tech
Kale frittata, so not ordered. Next time someone declares that Supreme Court justices always get their way, cite this story and say, “Not true, not true.”
How did Justice Alito react to this snub?
He calmly walked away and went down the street. The hostess didn’t appear to know who he was, and he didn’t seem to go out of his way to make it clear who he was.
I asked the hostess after if she knew who he was, and she said no. I explained who he was and she said, “Well, he should have made a reservation. We get very busy for brunch.”
Sadly, the Heirloom hostess’s inability to recognize the 110th justice of the Supreme Court of the United States shouldn’t surprise: almost two-thirds of Americans can’t name a single member of SCOTUS (and Justice Alito ranks #7 out of 9 in terms of name recognition). We reached out to The Study for comment on this incident but have not yet heard back from them.
What to make of this incident? I share the reaction of our source: “A very graceful moment on Justice Alito’s part. He could have invoked who he was but just casually went about his day.”
Sponsored
Tackling Deposition Anxiety: How AI Is Changing The Way Lawyers Do Depositions
Legal Contract Review in Under 10 Minutes? Here’s How
Moral of the story: in the United States, not even our justices are above the law — the law that you must make reservations for Sunday brunch.
Justices who graduated from Yale Law School hold court [Washington Post]
Supreme Court Justices Receive Award Of Merit [Yale Law School]
2014 Alumni Weekend Award of Merit Ceremony [YouTube]
Earlier: Fun (and Depressing) Fact of the Day: Two-Thirds of Americans Are Pretty Freakin’ Dumb
A Supreme Spouse Falls Victim To Spam?
SCOTUS Slammed at SOTU; Alito Mouths ‘Not True’ at the President
