President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joseph Biden visited the Supreme Court late Wednesday afternoon for a highly private, hourlong courtesy call that included chatting around a Court fireplace with eight of the nine justices.
Continuing the occasional practice of pre-inaugural visits by incoming presidents and vice presidents to the high court in recent decades, Obama and Biden arrived at 3:45 p.m. and left almost exactly an hour later after their fireside discussion and a brief tour of the Court chamber and the justices' conference room.
According to Court officials, all the justices except Samuel Alito Jr. joined Obama and Biden in the Court's stately west conference room, where they sat in highback chairs arranged around the fireplace. "Light refreshments" were served. Also on hand were Jeff Minear, counselor to Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., Gregory Craig, Obama's choice for White House counsel, and Alan Hoffman, Biden's deputy chief of staff. No explanation was given for Alito's absence.
The visit had some personal meaning for both Obama and Biden. When Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in 1991, he explicitly rejected a path that almost certainly would have led to a Supreme Court clerkship. As for Biden, as a longtime member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he has voted on the confirmation of all nine of the justices now sitting. Biden is a member of the Supreme Court bar; Obama is not. Both Obama and Biden signed a Court guestbook reserved for visiting dignitaries.
The meeting between the two branches resulted from a Dec. 5 invitation sent by Roberts to Obama, inviting Obama and Biden to visit the Court before they are sworn in. Noting that recent predecessors had arranged similar meetings "so that colleagues in public service might become better acquainted," Roberts said the Court "would be pleased to see that sporadic practice become a congenial tradition." Roberts promised a "warm welcome" from the Court. Roberts' friendly tone was notable, since both Obama and Biden voted against his confirmation in 2005.
But nothing could be learned about the tenor of the Wednesday meeting, in sharp contrast to the last time a similar encounter occurred. In December 1992, Bill Clinton and Al Gore made a highly public visit to the Court, entering and leaving in public view and greeting employees. A press pool was allowed to witness the discussion between Clinton, Gore and the justices. Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush paid a visit to the Court in late November 1980.
The more closed nature of the Wednesday meeting was explained in part as a matter of security, and also the result of the tight schedules of both the hosts and the guests, which left less time for a more leisurely and public occasion.
Still, the rare visit caused a stir at the usually monastic institution, as Court employees gathered in a ground-floor hallway in hopes of catching a glimpse of the pair. Obama and Biden were briefly sighted as they rounded a stairway on their way to and from the Court basement where they had arrived by car with their security detail. As they departed, a clutch of employees cheered, winning waves from Obama and Biden.
It would be intersting if the administion will be more involved with SCOTUS proceedings... i understand checks and balances... but seriously Alito and the rest of the right side need some common sense drilled in them.
Posted by: Joshua | January 15, 2009 at 03:00 PM
Methinks Justice Alito has embarrassed himself.
Posted by: Oski | January 15, 2009 at 02:23 PM
I like this tradition!!!
Posted by: Crews2me | January 15, 2009 at 09:57 AM
Is Alito still angry that President Elect Obama voted against him? Why didn't he show up for this meeting that SCOTUS wants to become a traditon?
Posted by: ddc | January 14, 2009 at 08:42 PM