Eyes of the Law

The Eyes of the Law: Ted Olson’s Star-Studded Nuptials

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ted olson theodore b olson theodore olson.jpgThis past Saturday, October 21, Washington superlawyer Ted Olson and his fiancee, Lady Booth, were married. The wedding ceremony took place at the stunningly beautiful Meadowood resort, in Napa Valley, California.
Olson, a giant of the Supreme Court bar, served as Solicitor General — the federal government’s top lawyer before the Supreme Court — from 2001 to 2004. He’s currently a partner in the elite D.C. office of top-flight firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
Olson successfully litigated the landmark 2000 election case, Bush v. Gore, in the Supreme Court. On the losing side: renowned litigator David Boies. But presumably there were no hard feelings, since Boies showed up for the wedding festivities — along with many other legal luminaries.
Some legal celebrity sightings, from the Washington Post’s Reliable Source:

More than 300 guests attended the midafternoon ceremony on the golf course, including Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, former justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, legal commentators Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova, NPR’s Nina Totenberg, legal names such as Robert Bork, Kenneth Starr, David Boise [sic], and Olson’s law partner Bill Kilberg. U.S. Appeals Court Judge Laurence Silberman performed the ceremony, and Wall Street Journal Publisher Gordon Crovitz served as best man.

This is Booth’s first marriage and Olson’s fourth. The couple will honeymoon in Hawaii.

We hear through the grapevine that the wedding was, not surprisingly, “a great time. It seemed like half of Washington was there!”
Other notable guests: Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, of the Fourth Circuit; Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain, of the Ninth Circuit, and his ever-stylish wife, Maura O’Scannlain; Frank Fahrenkopf, former RNC chairman and current gaming industry superlobbyist, with his wife, Mary; current Solicitor General Paul Clement; and conservative pundit Laura Ingraham.
Despite the tremendous collective brainpower of these august guests, we hear that several of them were left scratching their impressive craniums by one wedding detail: the request on the wedding invite for “Napa Casual” attire.
These leading minds of the bench and bar can slice, dice, define and parse the most complex legal terms known to man. But throw two innocent little words at them — “Napa Casual” — and watch them panic.
If only every day could be a court day. Who doesn’t look good in black?
Update: You can check out photographs from the wedding by clicking here.
Napa Nuptials for Olson and His Lady [Washington Post]
Theodore B. Olson, Solicitor General bio [USDOJ.gov]
Theodore Olson [Wikipedia]

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The Eyes of the Law: Top Bloggers at Temple

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david hoffman professor david hoffman.jpgMr. Bashman, don’t despair. ATL did NOT overlook your lunch with Professor David Hoffman, of Temple University’s Beasley School of Law (as you apparently feared).
Come now. Do you really think we’d miss a sighting of two high-profile bloggers — Howard Bashman, of How Appealing, and Dave Hoffman, of Concurring Opinions (at right) — getting their lunch on?
It just took us a little while to find a tipster with the requisite information. Here’s an account of the lunch, courtesy of “A Temple Owl in the Know”:

Celebrity blawg writer Howard Bashman, and the menschily hot Professor Hoffman, dined at the glamorous Temple University Student Center. The even more glamorous Temple University food carts were rendered a bad option due to a pounding rain.

Hoffman appeared to be eating something greasy, but complemented by a lovely side of grapes. Bashman had a dry sandwich and a soda, which he seemed pleased with.

I couldn’t overhear their conversation. But I doubt it was as interesting as the freshmen at the next table talking about their surprisingly eventful weekend in Atlantic City….

Our spies are everywhere. Legal celebrities, misbehave at your peril!
(If you’re disappointed by the starpower of our sighted “celebrities,” you have only yourselves to blame. We rely upon you, our readers — people who actually leave their apartments — to tell us about the famous lawyers and judges you see out in public. Please send us your sightings by email. Thanks.)
Howard Bashman’s Trip to Temple [How Appealing]
Taking Oral Argument to School [Concurring Opinions]
Earlier: The Eyes of the Law: Leading Blawgers at Lunch

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The Eyes of the Law: Conservative Lawyers at Play

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national review cover let's roll.jpgWe’re always grateful for legal celebrity sightings for Eyes of the Law, our sightings column. So please keep them coming (by email).
Recent sightings have been rather Washington-centric. So if you spot a famous lawyer, judge, or law-related TV personality outside the Beltway, we’d be especially interested in hearing from you.
Our latest sightings come from the heart of downtown D.C. A tipster reports:

I was hoping to score some Supreme Court justice sight-ations, in addition to miniburgers, at the Charlie Palmer Steakhouse — the venue for the noisy and expensive National Review Online Tenth Anniversary party Wednesday night. But I mostly saw B- and C-listers.

* Is Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney a lawyer? He’s taller than I thought, has a very authoritative voice, and was mobbed by groupies throughout the evening.

We’re not sure of Romney’s bar admissions or whether he’s ever practiced law. But he is a 1975 Harvard Law School grad (see here).

* Ex-Solicitor General Ted Olson, impeccably dressed, apparently alone, didn’t seem to be taking advantage of the open bar the way some other conservatives were doing.

No surprise there; the former SG is a very proper man. We will pay good money for photographs of Ted Olson downing tequila shots at Smith Point.

* Jonah Goldberg’s lawyer wife was probably there, too, but I didn’t see her.
[Ed. note: Is Goldberg's wife, Jessica Gavora, actually a lawyer? We don't believe so. See here and here. But she did work for one -- she was a speechwriter for former Attorney General John Ashcroft.]

Jonah Goldberg took control of the PA system to tell a long, unfunny story about the origin of the phrase ‘winged monkey,’ which I promptly forgot.

Links to additional coverage of the NRO anniversary party are collected below.
National Review 10th Anniversary Party [Right Side Redux]
Romney Warms Hearts Of Conservative Establishment [Hotline On Call]
Huzzah & Horray [The Corner]

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The Eyes of the Law: Wedding Crashers

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lori alvino mcgill matthew mcgill matt mcgill lori alvino.jpgYesterday Lori Alvino and Matthew McGill crushed their competition in Legal Eagle Wedding Watch. And perhaps their margin of victory should have been even larger.
We would have given them extra points had we known about these legal celebrity sightings at their wedding:

Not that Matt McGill and Lori Alvino McGill need more praise from you, but FYI: their wedding was attended by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, for whom Matt clerked back when he was on the D.C. Circuit; Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for whom Lori clerked; and Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the D.C. Circuit.

Other guests of note: former Solicitor General Ted Olson, and former D.C. Circuit nominee — and possible Supreme Court nominee — Miguel Estrada. (Both are now partners in the elite D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.)

So, if you think about it, you’re talking about two legitimate Supreme Court justices and, but for the cruel hand of fate, three other contenders for the Court.

WOW. Not much else to say, except: WOW.
If you were a guest at this star-studded gathering, and can offer an eyewitness report on the festivities, please drop us a line. We have so many questions. For example:

Was Chief Judge Ginsburg accompanied by the special lady friend very nice guest he took to the Yankees-Orioles game last year?

Did the abstemious Justice Ginsburg eat any wedding cake?

Did Chief Justice Roberts and Jane Roberts cut the rug at the reception — and if so, how were their moves? Is the Chief ready to appear on Dancing With the Stars?

Enquiring minds want to know!
Weddings & Celebrations: Lori Alvino, Matthew McGill [New York Times]
Earlier: Legal Eagle Wedding Watch: October 1, 2006

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The Eyes of the Law: Leading Blawgers at Lunch

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macaroni grill.GIFEarlier today, we noted that prominent legal bloggers Howard Bashman, of How Appealing, and Professor Michael Dimino, of PrawfsBlawg, would be having lunch today.
We expressed interest in the details of their meal. And now we have them, courtesy of a Harrisburg reader:

Bashman and Dimino went to — brace yourselves — the Macaroni Grill. Yes, A3G would probably be appalled. But you have to understand that Harrisburg ain’t exactly New York or Paris on the dining front.

As for what they ate, it looked like Bashman had a Caesar salad. Very virtuous of him. Dimino seemed to be enjoying something more exciting, maybe chicken parmigiana or something.

So there you have it — another exciting day in the life of two law bloggers. Maybe you can use this as a ‘celebrity sighting,’ if you’re having a slow day.

As a matter of fact, we are. So thanks!
Earlier: Morning Docket: 10.10.06

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The Eyes of the Law: The Red Mass

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st matthews cathedral.jpgOn October 1, before the start of the new Supreme Court Term, the annual Red Mass was held at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, in Washington, DC. Held before the opening of the judicial year, the Mass is celebrated “to invoke God’s blessing upon… all protectors and administrators of the Law” (description here).
Tony Mauro of the Legal Times reports on this year’s Red Mass, which was attended by numerous legal celebrities:

By law, the Supreme Court opens its fall term on the first Monday in October.

But by tradition, the Court season begins the day before, with the annual Red Mass celebrated at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Matthew in Washington, D.C.

At this year’s Oct. 1 mass, four of the five Roman Catholic justices — along with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, several other Cabinet members, and dozens of other area judges and public officials — were in the pews.

No sign of President Bush, who did attend the Red Mass in 2005. But plenty of other big names were in the house (of worship):

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., who, with his wife, Jane, was active for many years in the Catholic organization that sponsors the mass, was in the front row, as were Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, and Clarence Thomas. Justice Samuel Alito Jr., the other Catholic on the Court, did not attend, nor did the non-Catholic judges, some of whom have come in the past.

Why was Justice Alito not in attendance? Perhaps he was out of town?
If you know the answer to this question, or if you attended the Mass and can offer an eyewitness account of the proceedings — including sightings of any lower-court judges in attendance — please share your knowledge in the comments (or send us an email).
Seeing Red [Legal Times]
A Judicial SIGHT-ation Tomorrow: The Red Mass [UTR (2005 Red Mass)]
Judicial SIGHT-ations: Federal Judges Busting Out All Over! [UTR (2004 Red Mass)]
The Red Mass Online [St. Thomas More Society]

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The Eyes of the Law: Flying Justices?

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airplane.jpegAs gossip aficionados, we were excited to learn about this delicious website. From the NYT:

Ever wonder what the cabin crews on planes think of the passengers they serve? If you want to find out, log onto www.airlinecrew.net, a Web site “connecting crew members worldwide,” where flight attendants (or FA’s) spout off…

[I]t is the “celebrity sightings” thread within the Galley Gossip forum that makes for the best reading — posting after posting of who’s naughty and who’s nice in the air….”

Recalling the dishy write-ups of Justice O’Connor and Justice Breyer from Bitter Waitress, a similar website for restaurant servers, we headed over to the Airline Crew site. Our mission: to find judicial celebrity sightings at 30,000 feet.
Alas, unlike the Bitter Waitresses, our nation’s flight attendants seem to fit into the group of Americans who are more familiar with the Seven Dwarfs than the Nine Justices. Our diligent searches through the AirlineCrew.net gossip threads produced no Supreme Court justice sightings. (We didn’t bother looking for lower-court judges.)
The best we could do? Sightings of the Honorable Judith Sheindlin, aka Judge Judy. One flight attendant described her as “a tiny little thing.” Sure, she may be small; but she packs quite a punch.
From the same FA who saw Judge Judy came this comment, on Jennifer Lopez:

I CANNOT STAND THIS WOMAN… she yelled at me because I couldn’t make her a double espresso, and then told me that my shoes looked cheap!!!!!! can you believe it!? so I replied “well at least they match YOUR bag!”

We beg to differ with this FA. We adore J. Lo — and the more she acts like a diva, the more we love her.
Furthermore, we continue to believe Ms. Lopez should be nominated to the Supreme Court. We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: “Who could resist the prospect of a case parenthetical reading, ‘Lo, J., dissenting’?”
A New Kind of Dish Is Served by Flight Crews [New York Times]
Celebrity Sightings: What Fun! [AirlineCrew.net]
LAX-JFK Sightings [AirlineCrew.net]
Judicial SIGHT-ations: Hail to the Chief! [UTR]

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The Eyes of the Law: Justice Ginsburg at the Opera

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ruth bader ginsburg.gifThis just in: A possible sighting of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg!!!

I have an unconfirmed rumor that RBG was at the Kennedy Center’s performance last night of Sophie’s Choice: The Opera. Can you confirm this? Apparently the justice has been spotted before at the opera there.

Such a sighting would not surprise us. Justice Ginsburg’s love of the opera is well-known. It’s an interest she shares in common with her jurisprudential opposite, Justice Antonin Scalia, and the two jurists bond over it. They have even made cameo, non-singing appearances in various D.C. opera performances over the years.
So it would not surprise us to learn that Justice Ginsburg was at the Washington National Opera last night. Earlier this month, Ruthie was sighted at the company’s opening night gala dinner.
If you can confirm this sighting, please email us (and we will update this post if and when we receive such confirmation). Thanks.
We doubt we’ll check out “Sophie’s Choice” once we’re back in Washington. As DCist notes, the work “met with considerable critical disapproval after its 2002 world premiere in London.” The Washington Post’s recent review of the D.C. production calls it “a study in endurance” — at three and a half hours, with only one intermission.
If Justice Ginsburg went to “Sophie’s Choice,” did she enjoy herself? We hope that, at the very least, she didn’t fall asleep — as she did during an oral argument last Term
Even if the production may be problematic, we do like this quip from the programme notes of the London staging: “Life is messy, like masturbation.”
Justice Ginsburg, can you please pass the Kleenex?
Friedkin Toasts Opera Stars’ Talent [Washington Times]
Sophie’s Choice Opens Tonight [DCist]Opera Review: Sophie’s Choice [Guardian Unlimited]
A Searing Sophie’s Choice: WNO’s Production Is A Study in Endurance [Washington Post]
That White Ruffle Thing Is Great for Catching Drool [Wonkette]

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The Eyes of the Law: But Can He Outrun Justice Souter?

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stephen breyer in track suit.JPGLately you haven’t been sending many legal celebrity sightings our way. C’mon, guys — we know you can do better. If you harbor doubt as to who constitutes a “legal celebrity” in our book, please review this post.

Due to your delinquency, we’ll have to resort to some rather hoary sightings. Here’s the first, inspired by our recent post about legal hotshots chowing down:

As for food sightings, I hear that Leonard Leo has his own wine locker at Morton’s. One day this past summer, he was there and Miguel Estrada was in the next booth.

For those of you outside the Beltway, Leonard Leo is Grand Poobah of the Federalist Society — ringmaster of the good Senatrix’s “vast right-wing conspiracy.” Miguel Estrada — aka “the kid from Teguicalpa” — is the brilliant Latino lawyer, and former nominee to the celestial D.C. Circuit, who is often talked about as a possible SCOTUS nominee (in a Republican administration).

And what do great legal minds do to work off all those calories? Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Judge Consuelo Callahan (9th Cir.), and Judge Kathleen Cardone (W.D. Tex.) are aerobics aficionados. And all three, coincidentally, used to teach it. Justice O’Connor led the female law clerks in aerobics at the Supreme Court; Judge Callahan was an instructor at Jack La Lanne Fitness in Stockton, California; and Judge Cardone led classes at EP Fitness in El Paso, Texas.

Meanwhile, Justice David Souter, feeder judges J. Harvie Wilkinson (4th Cir.) and Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain (9th Cir.), and ex-Judge Michael Chertoff (3d Cir.) enjoy running. And they’re not the only ones:

An older sighting (March), but a good one. I was driving my car in Georgetown one Sunday morning behind a jogger (blue/black long spandex pants and windbreaker). He was trotting right down the middle of the street, leaving no opportunity to pass on either side.

We followed behind him for about 2 blocks, going an infuriating 4 mph. When he hits the end of the block, he turns and starts jogging the opposite way, and now he’s heading straight in our direction. It was unmistakably Justice Stephen Breyer.

We commend Justice Breyer for his fitness regimen (which may explain why he’s one of the more svelte of the justices). But please, Your Honor — show some consideration for the motorists.

(Yeah, we know — those brick sidewalks in Georgetown can be a real bitch. But remember the words of Nietzsche: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”)

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The Eyes of the Law: Harriet Miers Gets a Wardrobe Upgrade

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harriet miers.jpgHarriet Ellan Miers — remember her? President Bush’s White House Counsel, who was the subject of an ill-fated, and quickly withdrawn, Supreme Court nomination?
When Harriet Miers was thrust into the public spotlight as a SCOTUS nominee, her personal style was placed under scrutiny. People made fun of her hair and her make-up. And her 80′s-style ensembles were criticized by many.
Perhaps Harriet Miers took these fashion criticisms to heart. Here’s our latest “Eyes of the Law” celebrity sighting:

On Saturday afternoon, 9/9, I saw Harriet Miers in the “Narrative” Department at Nordstrom’s Pentagon City. She was looking at suits in black and “Reagan red.” I recognized her and nodded at her, and so she smiled pleasantly (in her Stepfordian way). She also rightly determined that red is not her color, and moved on.

I spent the rest of the afternoon lamenting the now obvious loss of my former rock-and-roll lifestyle and feeling tortured that I was shopping in the same department as Harriet Miers. Ew.

Cheer up, dear reader; you should actually congratulate yourself on being found in the shopping company of Harriet Miers. Although the blogospheric masses dismissed Harriet Miers, more sophisticated critics viewed her as a “fashion icon” — with really nice legs!

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