Summer is here, which means it's time for Supreme Court justices to hit the road. The first schedules are now arriving and, as always, gorgeous Austria is proving a popular choice.
St. Mary's University, which runs a summer law program in Innsbruck, reports that Justice Samuel Alito "will join the faculty of the 2009 Institute on World Legal Problems as Distinguished Visiting Jurist. Justice Alito's course, The Supreme Court, the Constitution, and Problems of Crime and Terrorism, will be offered during the first half of the program and enrollment in the course will be open to all students. Students will also be invited to attend a grand reception honoring Justice Alito."
Justice Anthony Kennedy, of course, will be in Salzburg, teaching a course on Fundamental Rights in Europe and the United States for a McGeorge School of Law program.
Chief Justice John Roberts will be in lovely Galway, Ireland, teaching a course through New England Law/Boston. The law school reports that "Justice Roberts’s class, “The United States Supreme Court in Historical Perspective,” will examine changes in the Supreme Court since the nation’s founding, with particular emphasis on the role of the chief justice and how several of them, from John Marshall to William Rehnquist, have influenced the Court’s role."
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be in Rome, teaching through the Loyola University of Chicago in mid-July.
Justice Stephen Breyer will be in mountainous Aspen, with the Aspen Ideas Festival from June 29 to July 5.
Suits & Sentences thinks it's great for the justices to enjoy themselves, and the colleges involved certainly get a great deal. Is it asking too much to wonder if the justices might some day pick a clerk or two from the non-elite law schools that provide them such a wonderful summer teaching opportunity?
Good question, Doyle. If the Supremes are about to be joined by their first Latina shouldn't they at least hire clerks from outside of the Ivies, especially Harvard and Yale? They might get a different perspective on things, that is if they're not afraid of such.
Posted by: borisjimski | June 23, 2009 at 01:18 AM
Yes, even the justices on occasion will say they wish for more university diversity, but then they stick to the same three schools for their clerks. I just think of the hungry and talented grads from the non-elite schools and the opportunity being denied them by justices who are more than happy to get a sweet summer gig through the non-elites.
Posted by: Michael Doyle | June 23, 2009 at 05:35 PM