UPDATE: We have a story here about today's oral argument in the mutual fund fees case, as well as a blog post here on a National Labor Relations Board case the Court agreed to hear, and another blog post here about the Court's action in an unusual Mississippi case brought to its attention by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
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There was an Alice in Wonderland quality to the Supreme Court this morning, where clocks throughout the building were off-kilter -- apparently triggered by an unsuccessful effort to turn them back when Daylight Saving Time ended early Sunday morning.
When the Court convened at 10 a.m. sharp, the ancient clock hanging above them read 6:20, as did clocks throughout the building (they're all controlled remotely, apparently.) Before the first oral argument began, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. took note of the glitch, though he did not explain it or apologize for it. Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said later that a malfunction in the Court's master clock made it impossible to reset the other clocks in the building.
Roberts told spectators that lawyers are sometimes admonished not to look at the clock during oral arguments. "That is particularly important today," he said.
Roberts' predecessor and mentor William Rehnquist notoriously got upset when advocates, obviously trying to pace themselves, would glance up at the clock above the justices as they responded to questions. Rehnquist once scolded a lawyer, "You are here to answer our questions, not to look at the clock!"
The warning today from Roberts was well-taken, because the clocks kept changing as the argument proceeded, at one point reading 10 a.m.. and then a little after 11. Lawyers kept their own time, and never looked up. Court electricians are working on the problem.
More later at nlj.com and at this blog on the Court's other action today.
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