Our obsession with Supreme Court clerks is longstanding, dating back to our blogging for Underneath Their Robes (where we used to profile SCOTUS clerks). And it seems we’re not alone in lusting after the Elect.
Apparently oral argument makes people think of other oral activities. Check out this “Missed Connection” from Craigslist:
Law clerk at SCOTUS honest services argument – w4m (Supreme Court Building)
We were both there to hear the honest services arguments, which were fascinating. You were siting with the law clerks, I think, so I’m wondering if you’re one of them. You looked slightly older and more mature than the rest of the people you were sitting with. You’re quite handsome and I enjoyed watching you as you followed the arguments. Too bad you left at the case break–I’d been trying to catch your eye. (I was sitting in the front row of reserved seating.) I promise that if you agree to meet me for dinner that I won’t mention Black or Weyhrauch. What say you?
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If you’ll forgive the quibbling, this posting is subpar; it’s missing some information. First, the poster has omitted her age (which typically goes after the “w4m”). Second, she offers little identifying information about herself (e.g., “I was wearing a red scarf”).
Third, she offers little identifying information about the clerk, other than that he’s “more mature” and “quite handsome.” We suspect that every male Supreme Court clerk fancies himself “more mature” and “quite handsome.”
Typically a missed connection involves, well, a “connection.” The lack of identifying information suggests that no such connection was forged here. But we admire the poster’s effort.
This is not, by the way, the first time a CL “Missed Connection” has arisen out of a Supreme Court argument.
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Back in May 2007, we wrote about another “Missed Connection” at One First Street, which was a bit more clever:
My words come to you by ‘Writ of Certiorari’ from my heart. I have an ‘Opinion’: You are without a doubt the most perfect girl on the Hill. I look forward to argument days just so I can see your smile and say hello as you pass me in the Courtroom hall.
And that’s just the opening paragraph. Read the full posting here.
The romantic pursuit of Supreme Court clerks, while occasionally amusing, shouldn’t be surprising. By working closely with their justices, clerks enjoy great proximity to power (and sometimes exercise power themselves, depending on their justice and their relationship with him or her). And, as Henry Kissinger memorably quipped, isn’t power “the ultimate aphrodisiac”?
P.S. In our experience, Supreme Court clerks also tend to be above-average in the looks department. Our theory here is that the justices have so many great legal minds to choose from, so they pick clerks who are good-looking as well as brilliant. Cf. Judge Gerard Lynch’s theory of clerk hiring, comparing it to dating supermodels.
Law clerk at SCOTUS honest services argument – w4m [craigslist]
Earlier: Desperately Seeking ‘The Supreme Court Clerk of My Heart’