Back in May, Jeffrey Toobin wrote a rather harsh appraisal of Chief Justice John Roberts. The title of Toobin’s New Yorker piece: No More Mr. Nice Guy.

Based on a recent celebrity sighting of Chief Justice Roberts, however, JGR still seems like a pretty nice guy. The sighting took place here in New York, and it was, interestingly enough, made by a fellow celebrity: Gay Talese, the critically acclaimed, bestselling author.

Visit the NYT’s City Room blog (via WSJ Law Blog) to read about Talese’s encounter with JGR, then come back.

Okay, are you back? Wasn’t that an awesome story? Doesn’t Chief Justice Roberts sound like a prince of a man?

Random medical commentary from a reader, after the jump.

Despite their ideological differences, Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg bond over their shared love for the opera. Both judicial luminaries attended Saturday’s opening night performance of Ariadne auf Naxos, at the Washington National Opera. If you’re into Article III celebrity sightings, the D.C. opera house is where it’s at.

Not only did the justices attend the opera; they also participated. An eyewitness evaluation of their performances, plus a photo of Justice Scalia with a sexy soprano in his lap, after the jump.

Jerry Maguire appeared as a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School last night. A HLS tipster tells us that Professor Bruce Hay invited Tom Cruise to talk to his Entertainment Law class on Monday night.

A most excellent guest, Tom Cruise is quite familiar with lawyers. He’s had legal star turns in The Firm and A Few Good Men. And he’s been involved in lots of litigation, including a suit filed by injured extras in Valkyrie, a RICO lawsuit against him and the Scientologists, and his plaintiff turn in that I’m-not-gay suit. (Insert “you can’t handle the truth” joke here.)

One HLS student sent us a link to this photo from last night. No word on whether or not Cruise jumped up and down on Hay’s lectern.

Our tipster was not in the class, but he did catch a glimpse of Cruise’s getaway.

Last Thursday, we posted a photo of VP Joe Biden enjoying some good ol’ blueberry pie at his alma mater, Syracuse University College of Law. It was up to you to come up with a caption for the picture, and now it’s time to choose the best one. Here’s the photo once again:

After the jump, check out the finalists.

Time for an Eyes of the Law celebrity sighting. On Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden visited Syracuse University. From the Syracuse Post-Standard:

Vice President Joe Biden talked with Syracuse students, teachers and parents Wednesday about his mission to strengthen the middle class.

Then, he rode in a limousine to a ballroom where people had paid $250 to have lunch and $1,000 to pose for a picture with him. After that, he rode the limousine a few more blocks to mingle with more people who had paid thousands of dollars to spend private time with him.

But staff members at Syracuse Law, the VP’s alma mater, got to meet with him for free. All it took was some homemade blueberry pie.

A picture of Vice President Biden getting his pie on, plus a caption contest, after the jump.

Sometimes stereotypes are true. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court’s first Latina justice, loves to dance — and she’s pretty darn good at it, too.

Consider this comment — posted back in May 2005, about then-Judge Sotomayor — from Underneath Their Robes:

In October [2004], attended the wedding of two law school classmate, one of whom (the bride) clerked for Judge Sotomayor. Judge Sotomayor was delightful and gracious — she took the time to introduce herself to the bride’s mother (and invited her to lunch when she was next in NYC to see her daughter). But the best was yet to come.

The Judge is a dancing machine. She danced it up with the groom, the bride, and the bride’s district court judge (Judge Underhill of Connecticut, who is no slouch on the dance floor either). She has mad rhythm. Don’t be fooled by the robes that she’s got!

Indeed. Residents of Washington who were out on the town Monday night were treated to the sight — and sound — of Justice Sotomayor celebrating her Supreme Court appointment, dancing and singing karaoke with family and friends.

An eyewitness (and earwitness) account, plus some grainy video, after the jump.

When Justice Sonia Sotomayor needs to stock up on her beloved rice, beans and pork, where does she go? One might peg the Supreme Court’s newest member — a liberal, a lawyer, a Greenwich Village resident — as a typical Whole Foods customer.

But perhaps Justice Sotomayor, in a show of support to the president who appointed her to the Supreme Court, is participating in the Whole Foods boycott? Her Honor was spotted shopping for groceries last Thursday at Whole Foods archrival Trader Joe’s, in the Foggy Bottom section of Washington, DC.

The Sotomayor sighting was noted briefly in the Washington Post. But an ATL tipster, who actually met and chatted with Justice Sotomayor at Trader Joe’s, has more details.

It has been a while since our last Eyes of the Law legal celebrity sighting, so here’s a fun one for your consideration. A D.C. tipster tells us:

We saw Sandra Day O’Connor in the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s exhibit on Georgia O’Keeffe and Ansel Adams. She had on the same red sweater she can be seen wearing in photos dating from the late ‘90’s hanging on the wall at Georgetown. I guess the retired justice pension package isn’t as generous as I thought. Or she just really likes that sweater.

SOC was accompanied by two women in their late 20’s or early 30’s… possibly granddaughters, possibly ex-clerks. We didn’t detect any particular resemblance — neither was wearing a red sweater that looked as though it might have been knitted or handed down from grandma.

Old people and museums: perfect together. Please pass the Bengay.

Georgia O’Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities [Smithsonian American Art Museum]

Some of you may recall our coverage (here and here) of Justice Antonin Scalia’s recent talk to promote his new book, Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges. The event took place here in Washington, D.C., in early June. As you can tell from our write-ups, we enjoyed the evening greatly (and will always treasure our signed copy of Justice Scalia’s book).

But not everyone left a happy camper. We received a heartfelt letter from an ATL correspondent whom we shall refer to only as “Nino Fanboy.” He sent the following letter to Justice Scalia, on the day following the event. We received a copy more recently. It begins:

Dear Justice Scalia:

I attended your book signing [on June 3rd] sponsored by the Federalist Society. For years now I’ve been a fond fan of yours. I would even call you my intellectual hero. I’ve always admired your charm and wit. But last night my image of you turned sour.

Several years ago I purchased a copy of A Matter of Interpretation [Justice Scalia’s 1997 book]. It has been a source of inspiration to me. I consider myself an ardent defender of Originalism. I attend the Catholic University, Columbus School of Law, and have engaged in several debates with classmates on the proper role of the courts and the best method of interpretation.

I bought a copy of A Matter of Interpretation (from which you received royalties) in the hopes that one day I would meet you and you would sign it. Last night I thought I’d found my opportunity. But I was waived [sic] away by you like a servant to a “philosopher king.”

Read the rest of Nino Fanboy’s strangely moving letter — this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg — after the jump.

We wouldn’t have guessed this, in light of his social conservatism and the show’s risqué nature. But here it is, from New York Magazine’s Intelligencer:

Apparently Antonin Scalia is a Sex and the City fan. When Sarah Jessica Parker finished an interview with Charlie Rose on May 29, she left the Bloomberg Building, where the show is taped, and stopped for a cigarette in the courtyard. The conservative Supreme Court justice emerged from a nearby Town Car and rushed over to praise the star.

“He was absolutely gushing, telling her how much he loved her show and how excited he was to see the movie,” says a witness. “Finally, he asked her if he could bum a cigarette.” She obliged, the witness said, and then Scalia strolled away. A Supreme Court spokeswoman confirmed the meeting but denied the cadge. “He was there for a symposium,” she said. “And he lent her a match.”

What, no lighter? Supreme Court justices may be underpaid, but Justice Scalia, who recently reported assets between $1.5 million and $3 million, can surely afford a nice Dunhill.

On second thought, maybe chemistry between SJP and AS isn’t so surprising after all. Justice Scalia does look a little like “Mr. Big.” (Or, to put it another way, Chris Noth looks like a young Scalia.)

Over at the WSJ Law Blog, a commenter speculates: “That is a new low, a guy telling a woman how much he likes ‘Sex and the City’ in order to bum a cigarette from her. How many guys really like that HBO series? Not very many. Scalia must be a hard core nicotine addict.”

Update / Correction: This post is subject to a correction. Please see here.

Love Supreme for Carrie Bradshaw [Intelligencer / NYM via WSJ Law Blog]

Last week, as reported in the Charlottesville Daily Progress (via the WSJ Law Blog), judicial superstar Antonin Scalia graced the University of Virginia School of Law with his presence. America’s coolest justice and America’s coolest law school: a winning combination.

An ATL reader wrote in to supplement the coverage of Justice Scalia’s visit:

I noticed that the WSJ Law Blog reported on Justice Scalia’s lecture at the University of Virginia School of Law. They did not, however, report that Scalia also taught a 1L Con Law class…. He spoke generally about judicial restraint, but the real fun came when he fielded questions.

Here’s the first exchange described by our correspondent:

Student: How do you reconcile your calls for judicial restraint with the court’s actions in Bush v. Gore?

Justice Scalia: Oh, get over it! Do you really think we weren’t going to grant cert?

And the second:

Student [so nervous that he’s reading his question off a sheet of paper]: “Thank you for your comments this morning. You have spoken about the dangers of an encroaching judiciary, but is it not the case that this rhetoric is a smoke-screen, a mere chimera, meant to distract us from the imperialization of the Executive Branch and…”

Justice Scalia [interrupting loudly]: Are you reading that? Chimera?

Student: …Well, I…

Justice Scalia: No, I get your question; the Imperial Executive is a sheer fantasy…

Love him or hate him, Nino makes for good copy. This charismatic and colorful jurist isn’t called the Rock Star of One First Street for nothing. If you have funny stories about encounters with Justice Scalia that you’ve participated in or witnessed, feel free to share them in the comments.

The Scalia Road Show Talks Religion in Charlottesville [WSJ Law Blog]

One of the great things about going to law school here in Washington, D.C., is access to the U.S. Supreme Court. If you’re at Georgetown Law and want to watch a SCOTUS argument, you can just stroll on over to One First Street.

And sometimes the mountain comes to Mohammed. Justices of the Supreme Court regularly visit Georgetown University Law Center. For example, last November, as reported in these pages, Justice Antonin Scalia paid a visit.

Today his considerably more liberal counterpart, fellow opera lover Ruth Bader Ginsburg, graced GULC with her presence. From a tipster (who took the iPhone picture at right):

Justice Ginsburg just left an admitted students event at GULC, a discussion about U.K./U.S. comparative law. Also in attendance was Lady Hale of the soon-to-be U.K. Supreme Court.

Justice Ginsburg was very dignified. She was wearing a brown suit — it looked like a carpet — paired with white stockings and yellowish shoes.

Best part: when she whipped a copy of the Constitution out of her pocket and read out the Equal Protection Clause!!!

I had my Con Law book ready for her signature, but she snuck out a side door right afterwards.

For the Article III groupies among you, a little more description of the event appears after the jump.

Our latest legal celebrity sighting: Justice Antonin Scalia, spotted at Georgetown University Law Center. He is believed to have been at GULC to speak to a con law class.

Of the current justices on the Supreme Court, Justice Scalia clearly inspires the greatest amount of fanatical devotion. How many other justices have their own fansite?

(Okay, Justice Thomas has one too. And with his new, bestselling memoir, My Grandfather’s Son, he’s definitely building a fan base. But we still think that Justice Scalia has the most groupies of any member of the SCOTUS.)

And how many other justices are asked to sign students’ laptop computers? This student, who had his laptop autographed by AS, was proudly displaying his computer to his classmates, saying that he felt Scalia had “blessed” his laptop for the upcoming exams.

With such a large and devoted following, we have a feeling that Justice Scalia’s forthcoming book — Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges, a guide to persuasive legal writing and oral advocacy, which he’s writing together with legendary legal writing teacher Bryan Garner — will sell pretty well too.

Scalia to Join Supreme Court Book Club [Legal Times]

So just how large was the settlement in Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell? Professor Scott Moss argued it was probably modest, while Professor Art Leonard believed it to be more substantial.

Here’s some evidence in favor of a larger settlement:

On Saturday at around 5 p.m., I spotted Aaron Charney in a cafe, in the bucolic town of Cold Spring, New York. I would have gone up and talked to him, but I realized who he was too late.

He was dressed in preppy fall wear, very J. Crew, with a wool hat. He was with two friends, and he was joking with them. He looked happy.

Well, how happy? Was it a $500,000 kind of happy, or a $2 million kind of happy?

Earlier: Just How Far Did S&C ‘Bend Over’ for Aaron Charney?

On Tuesday, we reported on several sightings of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, in the vicinity of 13th and F Streets here in Washington, DC. Now we know what he was doing in that part of town:

[F]ormer AGAG has retained George Terwilliger of White & Case to represent him in the investigation surrounding his mismanagement of Justice. White & Case is on 13th between F and G.

So it looks like George Terwilliger, who was considered but passed over for AG, will get to clean up after Alberto after all.

Alberto Gonzales Hires Defense Attorney [AP]
Judge Alberto Gonzales’s Latest Hire [WSJ Law Blog]

Earlier: The Eyes of the Law: Alberto Gonzales

Here’s our latest legal celebrity sighting, for our occasional Eyes of the Law feature:

I’ve seen Alberto Gonzales walking the streets near Metro Center three times in the last month. Today he was walking with a blonde woman who was keeping a comfortable distance and not saying much. She looked like someone I should recognize, but didn’t.

Hmm… Might it have been Monica Goodling?

Or maybe not:

I think the blonde woman may have been his wife? [Ed. note: Our source directed us to the photo at right.]

All three times have been right around the intersection of 13th and F Streets. Today he was walking west on F Street, and the last time I remember he was walking south on 13th Street. He was with someone then too, but it was a man, and so obviously not his wife. Can’t remember the time before that.

Any idea what he’s up to these days? BTW: he looks taller on TV, but then again I guess everyone does.

True; the celebrities we’ve met generally look smaller in real life. But there are some exceptions. E.g., Bill Clinton (who is taller in real life than you’d expect).

Have you seen a famous lawyer or judge out and about lately? If so, please email us. Thanks.

Update: We now think we know what Alberto Gonzales was doing in that part of town. See here.

If you enjoy spotting legal celebrities, then the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, here in Washington, DC, is where it’s at. Check out these latest Eyes of the Law sightings:

“On Sunday, it was the symphony opening at the Kennedy Center. I walked in with Justice Alito, and Justice Ginsburg came a bit later. And Vernon Jordan.”

“There were also non-legal celebrities in attendance: Steven Schwarzman, Alphonso Jackson, Tom Friedman, and Nancy Brinker, the former head of the Komen Foundation and the new U.S. Chief of Protocol.”

“On Monday, at the opera, I spotted Nina Totenberg. She wore a nice blue suit and had full metal makeup and hair.”

“She stood in line for her drink in the lobby along with everyone else and did not push to the front or demand that others get her drink for her. Apparently this is very out of character for her.”

If you spot a legal celeb out and about, please let us know, by email. Cell phone pictures and even TMZ-style video are always welcome. Thanks.

Okay, so the folks over at TMZ.com don’t chase them around yet. But here at ATL, we adore legal celebrities — and invite you to send in your encounters with them, for our Eyes of the Law sightings column.

Last Friday, for lovers of legal boldface names from the left or the right, William & Mary School of Law was the place to be:

William and Mary Law School (and the College) had a series of speakers of today, all wedged into a very tight schedule. They included:

At noon, former Dean of UC Irvine School of Law Erwin Chemerinsky. Unfortunately, I didn’t go to his talk, so I can’t say whether he talked about the controversy.

At 1 PM, UC Berkley professor (and evil incarnate if you believe some blogs) John Yoo spoke. Yoo said in his introduction that he was being “wedged in” between “the former Dean of UC Irvine” and Stuart Taylor, who was speaking at 2 on his book on the Duke rape case, “Until Proven Innocent.”

We also had a panel on Saturday on “Judicial Modesty,” which included such leading lights as Dahlia Lithwick, Michael McConnell, Carter Phillips and Jeffrey Rosen. See here (PDF).

Quite the weekend for legal geeks! (Er. You know. If I was one of them).

Although this tipster wasn’t at the Chemerinsky talk, other ATL readers were. Check out this video, posted on the blog of the W&M chapter of the American Constitution Society. Isn’t Chemerinsky adorable?

Additional discussion of the Erwin Chemerinsky and John Yoo appearances, after the jump.

Here’s a random legal / political celebrity sighting, sent to us last night, in real time (at around 8 PM):

I’m riding the Philly-to-DC Acela, and who should be in first class but the original don of the Homeland, Tom Ridge, Esq. A dark horse candidate coming down to be reviewed as a potential AG?

The former governor is looking dapper, in a double-breasted, navy pinstripe suit (although the bluetooth earpiece is too much). He’s carrying only a small leather bag.

Tom Ridge for AG? Not as predictable as, say, Mike Chertoff. But when it comes to picking a new attorney general, we’re all in favor of outside-the-box thinking.

Oh wait, sorry, an update and correction:

Upon de-training, it is clear that Ridge’s bag is a black nylon duffel — not leather. I catch his attention and ask him if he prefers “Governor Ridge” or “Secretary Ridge,” and he responds the former, although “Tom is fine.”

Have you recently seen a legal luminary around town? Please send “Eyes of the Law” sightings to us by email. Thanks.

We all scream for ice cream! And that includes high-ranking officials of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Here’s our latest legal celebrity sighting:

Last night I watched the fireworks from the South Lawn of the White House. The event had a very DC feel to it: everyone there was quasi-famous, even if you couldn’t figure out why.

But I did recognize one person: Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, the second-highest-ranking official at the DOJ. He was dressed casually, in a red polo shirt, and was sitting on a blanket with his wife and kids.

McNulty may not be Brad Pitt — but here in Washington, he might as well have been. People kept going up to him, introducing themselves, and having their picture taken with him. This is clearly the dorkiest city in the entire country (and I count myself among the dorks, since I recognized him too).

I discreetly took two photographs of DAG McNulty munching on a Dove ice cream bar. Here they are.

High-ranking Justice Department officials: they’re just like us. They eat ice cream bars!

Earlier: Every DAG Has His Day