The Ten Most Shocking Personal Moments of the Supreme Court

Everyone is speculating about the ways Sotomayor's personal background will compromise her judicial integrity. I mean, it's pretty hard to hold a gavel while eating arroz con pollo, let alone while having a vagina. Here is a list of some glimpses into the personal lives of Supreme Court judges.

1. Judge Breyer opens up about exploring his sexuality: "In my experience when I was 8 or 10 or 12 years old, you know, we did take our clothes off once a day.... We changed for gym, O.K.? And in my experience, too, people did sometimes stick things in my underwear."
2. Scalia declares that when it comes to allegations of crotching, you're guilty until searched and/ or proven innocent: "You search in the student's pack, you search the student's outer garments, and you have a reasonable suspicion that the student has drugs.... Don't you have, after conducting all these other searches, a reasonable suspicion that she has drugs in her underpants? You've searched everywhere else.... By God, the drugs must be in her underpants."
3. Scalia challenges stereotypes about Italians using their hands. Scalia insists the gesture is not offensive or obscene, in which case it can only be interpreted as a gesture or Jewish-Italian hand-using unity.
4. Rehnquist is accused of being a Jew by President Nixon. Referring to Rehnquist as ''Renchberg...the guy dressed like a clown," alluding to Rehnquist's loud shirt and psychedelic tie, the president asked, ''Is he Jewish? He looks it.''
5. Rehnquist brings jazz hands into court. The musical theater buff adds 4 gold braid stripes to the sleeves of his robe after seeing a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Iolanthe," in which The Lord Chancellor (comic baritone) wears the costume.
   
6. Clarence Thomas makes history by becoming first Supreme Court justice accused of asking "Who has pubic hair on my coke?"
7. John Roberts is trans-friendly. A member of the drama club at high school, Roberts plays the female character of Peppermint Patty in the school's production of You're A Good Man Charlie Brown.
   
8. Mom's say the darnedest things. While her son is trying to stay "mum" on roe v wade, Rose Alito tells the media "of course he's against abortion."
9. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry." After Alito is attacked for his membership (which he can't even recall) in a harmless group (committed to blocking women and minorities from being admitted to Princeton,) Alito's wife starts "crying hysterically after Ted Kennedy made her cry"/ after being reminded she married a bigot.
   
10. Nominee gets verbed. Bork gets "borked," this losing the nomination but winning the honor of having his name become a verb ("to bork")

KatieHalper.com

Comments

[kagenin]

You left out Justice Scalia's refusal to recuse himself during Gore v Bush. Antonin Scalia's Daughter was a high-ranking Bush campaigner. He should have acknowledged the conflict of interest, and in the greater interest of the country, disqualified himself from hearing the case (which was probably the most important, and disgustingly wrong decision, of the last 20 years, if not longer).

[offred]

Yes, in 2000, now there were some ACTIVIST judges, putting political ideology and personal agendas before the good of the country, by closing down the Florida recount and appointing George W. Bush president.

[offred]

Yes, now those were some ACTIVIST judges, stopping the Florida recount and appointing Dubya president, all in the interest of their political ideology and personal agendas.

And Scalia is the one who was seen in a TV interview, saying that everyone should just "get over" Bush v. Gore (influenced by his personal feelings and close friendship with Pappy Bush).

[offred]

Yup, those activist judges should have all recused themselves, instead of closing down the Florida recount and appointing Dubya president because of their political ideologies and personal agendas.

[flossophy]

Think of how horrible things would've been under President G0re... Do you have any idea of what kind of policies he would've foisted on the country? yikes.

[Gidster]

I am sure it would not have been a war of choice, on credit, runaway defense spending, delayed response to a destroyed American city, self regulation of industry and the economy in the crapper!

Horrors! Gore might have not gutted the EPA!!!!!!!

[Baylor00]

It was Lindsey Graham who asked Scalia if he was a bigot, not Ted Kennedy.

[dfranz]

Scalia could be a great VP in the rich tradition of Dick Cheney. He's at least as arrogant as Cheney and has that happy FU attitude. I could easily see him shooting an oil company executive at his private game reserve and then getting the poor slob to apologize for getting in the way of his gun.

[tokenconservative]

Interesting how 9/10 moments are against the more conservative judges, particularly when there are salient moments that come to mind.

[MsLiz]

Please, share.

[demfriend]

Geez lady you just made everyone on the Supreme Court out to be normal and human so how can the President nominate someone who made it like as close to the top in her graduation class and has done everything she has? I look back at the nominations I have seen during my brief life of almost 60 years and still cannot get the nightmare of Harriet Miers out of my head and the GOP must have forgotten her already. I have little doubt that the nomination will be approved for the fine judge Obama has nominated as his being a Constitutional scholar says he would have weighed far better than many of the talking idiots have just what it means to the court to add the Judge Sotomayer. She looks like from the history I read, she has a great mind and will do things that will both be good and not so great as they all have.

[MsLiz]

Perhaps you don't recall that it was conservatives and Republicans who were Harriet Miers most vehement critics. Democrats and liberals did not have to say a word.

[blackmouth]

How can these old white guys complain about Judge Sotomayor's feelings when they can't even pronounce her name?

[knosiswar]

I read, but of course can't find it now, that Scalia made a comment that three-ways were a good thing, or something like that. I know I read it, no idea where.

[miranda2060]

Thanks for the entertaining roundup, Katie. It's always fun to relive the days of Nixon going on about "teh Jews." He really was obsessed.

[talkitreal]

In July of 1991, "empathy" was one of the major selling points presented at the nomination of Justice Clarence Thomas! As President George H. W. Bush said:

I have followed this man's career for some time, and he has excelled in everything that he has attempted. He is a delightful and warm, intelligent person who has GREAT EMPATHY and a wonderful sense of humor. He's also a fiercely independent thinker with an excellent legal mind, who believes passionately in equal opportunity for all Americans. He will approach the cases that come before the Court with a commitment to deciding them fairly, as the facts and the law require.

[Deidroni]

I think your the one with the great sense of humor.
If Thomas has an excellent legal mind, why doesn't he ever open his mouth on the bench? Why does he claim to be a victim of affirmative action?
He's the worst Justice sitting on the Bench.

[sufi66]

Satire right?

[Gidster]

No. Bush the elder actually said that.

Both Alito and Scalia both referenced their heritage and upbringing in their decision making process.

Again the double standard, when Republicans do it, it's praiseworthy, if a Democrat does it, it's only affirmative action.

[Bad actor]

There is nothing negative in her file that would suggest she would be a radical on any subject. I think the President made a very good selection and she should be confirmed .

[sufi66]

The most obscene moment was when they handed Bush the presidency without any justification whatsoever.

The second most obscene moment was when Thomas was allowed on the court so he could say nothing and parrot Scalia throughout his entire tenure.

The third most obscene moment was when Bush 2 was allowed to have his choices be seated as judges when none of them exhibited the temperament and character to even run a hardware store.

[miranda2060]

Good summary.

[mike39]

Well stated.

[kagenin]

Scalia's daughter worked for the Bush campaign. He should have recused himself, had he any shred of honor, decency, or integrity.

[Gidster]

They stopped the mandatory recount, then legislated from the bench that this was "just this once"....

Roberts was only a judge for 2 years before he resigned, I guess for a bigger paycheck.

[MikeDu]

Right-wing hysteria to the contrary, I distintly recall Bork didn't get the post because he didn't deserve it! He rather enjoyed caiming in the harshest language that the 9th amendment wasn't worth the paper it was written on. *Dis-qualified*.
That's why all idiot-right nominees from that day forward have refused to answer the most simple question during the nominating process. Even THEY know their insane judicual philosophies would disqualify them from the office.

[dave1111]

The judge is obscene, not the gesture.

[edtheengineer]

The key aspect of Alito's membership in a group he supposedly cannot recall is that the group's goals (keeping broads and brown ones out) is a perfect summary of his entire career on the bench. The lynchpin of a career whose main premise is "I got mine so the heck with you". Sometimes college memberships tell you a lot about a person's values.