Who Is the 'Dean' of the Supreme Court Press Corps?
We're loving this little dustup over our item about Nina Totenberg getting territorial over seating in the Supreme Court press gallery. It got us a shout-out in the Washington Post. And it's generating celebrity correspondence for us, too.
Over the weekend, we heard from SCOTUS bar superstar Tom Goldstein. And then, this morning, we received this email, from one of our favorite commentators on legal affairs:
From: Dahlia Lithwick
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 10:35 AM
To: David Lat
Subject: one bigger question raised in DivagateThe Wa Po article about Nina said she was "dean" of the Supreme Court press corps.
I have also heard that title applied to both Linda [Greenhouse] and Lyle [Denniston] at various times.
What the heck is that about?
Is it a real position? Is it tenured?
Good questions. It reminds us of "The Tenth Justice," a title that has been bestowed on everyone from the Solicitor General to ex-judge J. Michael Luttig to Howard Bashman (by Howard Bashman).
Also, can you run for this post of "dean"? If the SCOTUS press corps is like high school, is this like being class president? Or prom queen?
If so, we nominate Dahlia Lithwick. She's fabulous! How many Supreme Court correspondents have Facebook fan clubs?
(Linda Greenhouse, eat your (bleeding) heart out....)
Names & Faces: Totenberg's Courtside Seat [Washington Post]
A3G to President Bush: Pick Alito, Not Luttig [Underneath Their Robes]
Comments
Linda Greenhouse is terrible.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 17, 2007 01:01 PM
Dahlia Lithwick rocks.
Posted by: Patrick | July 17, 2007 01:03 PM
I would point out that the Wa Po article purports to be relaying what Totes said. In other words, Totes referred to herself as the dean of the SC press corps.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 17, 2007 01:13 PM
Yes, Dahlia Lithwick does rock.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 17, 2007 01:13 PM
Dahlia is hilarious. Don't overlook the subject line of her email, in which she refers to the present controversy as "Divagate."
LOVE it.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 17, 2007 01:17 PM
Dahlia Lithwick is hot. errr, I mean extraordinarily cute, errr, I mean adorable.....
Posted by: anon | July 17, 2007 01:23 PM
I nominate David Lat for Dean of Legal Bloggers.
Posted by: Nasty, Brutish and Short | July 17, 2007 01:29 PM
Where's the dirt on the summer associate firings? As the rumor mill go to me, it's in LA at O'Melveny. Details are sketchy, but groping was involved.
Posted by: giveusthedirt | July 17, 2007 01:32 PM
I wonder if Dean is a title given to the correspondent who had been there the longest. Seems like in college sports you are the "Dean" of your conference if you have been the head coach of your program for a longer period of time than anyone else has been head coach of their respective program within the conference. Might be the same?
Posted by: anon | July 17, 2007 01:33 PM
In the same way that Helen Thomas is the "Dean" of the White House press corps?
Posted by: Anonymous | July 17, 2007 01:41 PM
I think it's a little bizarre that Dahlia refers to Linda and Lyle without last names. I mean I guess it's a small SCOTUS press corps, and she's writing to another journalist, but still seems a little divaish in its own right.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 17, 2007 02:00 PM
"Howard Bashman (by Howard Bashman)."
quelle surprise
Posted by: Anonymous | July 17, 2007 02:28 PM
Bashman--Gallionism with a hefty dose of subtlety
Posted by: Anonymous | July 17, 2007 02:28 PM
Bashman referred to himself as the tenth justice?!? I hope that's a joke and not one made by him. The guy's never even argued a case before the U.S. S.Ct. let alone ever said anything interesting. Have you ever read his column on law.com? He's good at compiling links, yes, but not much else.
Posted by: bashman lover/hater | July 17, 2007 02:47 PM
WGWDW
Posted by: white guy with dahlia lithwick | July 17, 2007 03:22 PM
1:23 - I think that's her law school facebook photo. This might be more recent: http://www.blueblanket.net/Dahlia/Images/dahlianme.gif
Posted by: Anonymous | July 17, 2007 03:26 PM
Not sure about "Tenth Justice," but Bashman once called himself the "37th Supreme Court clerk" (or some such thing).
Posted by: Anonymous | July 17, 2007 03:39 PM
No! 3:26, you've shattered my dreams. I guess that only leaves Greenburg.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 17, 2007 03:39 PM
Lat has a better Lithwick pic here (sixth photo down):
http://www.abovethelaw.com/2007/02/writing_about_the_law_a_correc_1.php
Posted by: Dahlia Lithwick pic (better) | July 17, 2007 03:43 PM
Having observed them both up close and at length, I can assure you that Greenhouse is both the "alpha female" and "dean" of the Supreme Court. All of the other reporters tend to cluster around her like gunners at the end of class.
Totes, however, is the real journalist of the bunch.
Posted by: bigmouth | September 21, 2007 06:32 PM