Faculty in the News
In the News
'Cushy' Job, or 'Isolated' Hell? Life as a Supreme Court Justice
Publication date: April 23, 2010
Source: ABC News
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An article by ABC News on the life of a U.S. Supreme Court justice quoted Stephen McAllister, professor of law.
ABC News wrote:
The court's nine-month term also means abundant free time during the summer, when justices don't hear oral arguments or meet to decide cases. Many choose to travel the world, giving legal seminars in hot spots like Venice, Italy, or Salzburg, Austria.
"You don't even have to deal with the public," said Stephen McAllister, a University of Kansas law professor who clerked for Justice Byron White from 1989 to 1991 and then for Justice Clarence Thomas during the 1991-1992 term.
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But despite the apparent perks, Supreme Court service is often a lonely and frustrating path for those who take it.
"It's a very isolated existence," McAllister said, "and it really means a withdrawal from much of the real world."
The isolation even exists inside the court, where the justices work largely alone, holed up inside chambers often characterized as independent law firms, silently reading and drafting documents. "There's not a lot of collaborating, not a lot of just going down to somebody's chambers for awhile to chat about things," McAllister said. "There's not much of any contact at all among them [the justices]."
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Expert say the lack of cameras in the courtroom has helped the justices retain some anonymity in public. A recent C-SPAN poll found many Americans don't know how many justices sit on the bench and most can't identify any by name.
"[Former chief justice, the late William Rhenquist] would often put on a hat and a trench coat and just go strolling around the building," McAllister said. "Tourists would be taking pictures and he'd walk right by."