Did you know that, according to the Supreme Court, 9 Justices served as law clerks on the Court?
First up, we have Byron White, who clerked for Chief Justice Fred Vinson during the 1946 Term . . .
Next up, we have John Paul Stevens, who clerked for Justice Wiley B. Rutledge during the 1947 Term . . .
In the third spot, we have William H. Rehnquist, who clerked for Justice Robert H. Jackson during the 1952 Term . . .
In the fourth spot, we have Stephen G. Breyer, who clerked for Justice Arthur J. Goldberg during the 1964 Term . . .
In the fifth spot, we have John G. Roberts, Jr., who clerked for Justice William H. Rehnquist during the 1980 Term . . .
In the sixth spot, we have Elena Kagan, who clerked for Justice Thurgood Marshall during the 1987 Term . . .
In the seventh spot, we have Neil M. Gorsuch, who clerked for then-retired Justice Byron R. White and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy during the 1993 Term . . .
In the eighth spot, we have Brett M. Kavanaugh, who clerked for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy during the 1993 Term . . .
And finally in the ninth spot, we have Amy Coney Barrett, who clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia during the 1998 Term.
And for a bonus ⚖️ Judicial Fun Fact ⚖️ . . .
Did you know that one of these law clerks ended up serving as a member of the Court alongside the Justice for whom he clerked?
That would be Justice Gorsuch alongside Justice Kennedy!
Coming to you fast is the final chapter in the story of Judge Florence Allen – including how she became . . .
✴️ The First Woman Appointed to an Article III Court and even shortlisted for the Supreme Court in the 1930s! ✴️
Part II of our epic ⚖️🧵 commences now . . .
So when we last left our heroine, Florence Allen had broken a whole lot of glass ceilings. 🔨
After becoming the 🥇 woman in the country to be elected to a court of general jurisdiction (the court of common pleas) . . .
she became the 🥇 woman elected to a State Supreme Court!
Florence served on the Supreme Court of Ohio for 11 years, earning a reputation for being a stellar jurist.🌟
As one commentator put it, Florence was "entitled to prominence" not because she was the 1st woman but "rather because of her unusually clear and up-to-date thinking.”👩⚖️
Who is in the mood to hear the story of the ⭐️First Woman Article III Judge⭐️?
Cuz I am sure in the mood to tell it!
Tonight we meet Judge Florence Allen – a true pathbreaker! (She served on the Ohio Supreme Court *and* the 6th Circuit!)
Mini ⚖️🧵all about her in 3...2...1...
Let's do the basics first:
Florence Ellinwood Allen was born in 1884.
She graduated at age 20 from what is today Case Western Reserve & then - being a true Renaissance woman - went to Germany 🇩🇪 to study 🎹, almost becoming a professional pianist!
(Florence had skills.)
But, luckily for us, she changed course & turned to law.⚖️
(Not to worry – she kept up her love of 🎵 and even was a music critic for the amazingly-named Cleveland Plain Dealer 📰 for awhile!)
Florence decided to attend law school ... but her alma mater wouldn’t admit women.🙅♀️
I have been waiting *all day* to tell you the story of Sarah T. Hughes –
1st woman federal judge in Texas, 3rd in the federal judiciary as a whole, and the only woman to have sworn in a U.S. President (as you might recall). 👇
Let the thread commence...
(⚖️🧵)
Sarah Tilghman was born in 1896 in Baltimore. ☀️
After college, she spent 2 years teaching science - in her words, "about the only thing a girl could do at that time was to teach school."
She then enrolled at @gwlaw and attended at night, commuting by . . . canoe (!). 🛶
(2/x)
By canoe?! (you might ask). By canoe! (I say).
You see, Sarah lived on the other side of the Pataomac in a tent. ⛺️ And so naturally, she commuted by canoe.
And if all that wasn't cool enough, during this period she served as a member of the DC police force during the day. 👮♀️
As you know, the Supreme Court Justices have had their current building only since 1935.
This leads to a gripping question: Where were those guys for the first 146 years!? 🤔
What do you say we take a little road trip together to find out? 🚗 I’ll drive . . .
(⚖️🧵)
First stop – New York City! 🍎
The Supreme Court was born in 1789 (thanks to the Judiciary Act of that year) and lived, ever so briefly, in the Royal Exchange Building right here. 👇
(It wasn't the fanciest of beginnings - the Royal Exchange was a covered marketplace . . . )
Bonus Fun Fact: Before the Court convened, the federal court for the District of New York sat in the building on Nov. 3, 1789 – making it the 1st federal court to sit under the new Constitution!🥇
Their first business? Admitting lawyers to the bar, including Aaron Burr (Sir).⭐️
I think everyone knows that Bob Katzmann was an extraordinary judge (👨⚖️) and a true mensch (♥️).
But do you know that he also made huge contributions to judicial administration? Ready to hear all about it? Well, have I got a court thread for you . . . (⚖️🧵) (1/x)
Let’s begin with a relationship problem – and the 2 players in this part of the story are Congress and the Courts (💕). Their problem, as with most couples, had to do with communication.
(Though unlike with most couples, theirs was all about judges interpreting statutes.) (2/x)
Specifically, as Judge Henry Friendly (❤️) once wrote about the “problems posed by defective draftsmanship”
(way to point the finger, Henry👉)
we see “the occasional statute in which the legislature has succeeded in literally saying something it probably did not mean.” (3/x)