Places – 15 - The United States Supreme Court

United States Supreme Court, Washington, D.C. (15 January 2015)

We all learned in school that our government is made up of three co-equal branches: The Legislative…Congress makes the laws; the Executive…the President and Administration execute the laws; and the Judiciary…the courts interpret and enforce the laws. Breaking away from the English monarchy where judicial matters were decided by royal courts meant our new republic was setting new standards when it came to establishing civil jurisprudence on the state and federal levels. We needed a final authority on national law and how new laws abided by the Constitution. It’s time to visit our ‘Temple of Justice.’

My career was often at the intersection of law and science. As an environmental issue manager, I had to understand new laws passed by legislatures and implementing regulations written by executive agencies. Sometimes, intractable issues brought industry, government and the public to court. Understanding how to navigate that process was part of the job.

The Contemplation of Justice by James Earle Fraser

United States Supreme Court, Washington, D.C. (30 June 2015)

When laws are challenged, we need the courts to confirm that they have a proper constitutional foundation. The Supreme Court is the highest tribunal in the land. The Court of Last Resort. The end of the line for such decisions.

Located on First Street NE, across from the Capitol, is the magnificent United States Supreme Court building. Completed in 1935, the structure was designed by Cass Gilbert, who also was the architect for three state capitol buildings (Arkansas, Minnesota and West Virginia). This means that the highest court in the land had no building of its own for the first 146 years of its existence. Up to then, it met in cramped, lower floors of the capitol and other available spaces. Because the conditions were so cramped and undesirable, some justices chose to work at home.

Stairway to Justice

United States Supreme Court

Washington, D.C. (30 June 2015)

The public spaces inside this heroic classical building are few. The ground floor has a small theater, some exhibit space and a few amenities. The first floor has a Great Hall and the hallowed courtroom…where even Images and More, with its considerable journalistic clout and reputation, was unable to take pictures. Marble busts of the Chief Justices line the walls of the Great Hall and shots of them will be included in a forthcoming quest. 

East Pediment, United States Supreme Court,

Washington, D.C. (30 June 2015)

Since the main entrance faces the Capitol, few visitors get to see the back side of the building. As one might expect from such a grand construction, symbolism and allegory are everywhere. The inscription in the front/west pediment says “Equal Justice Under Law.” The architects thought the rear inscription should say, “Equal Justice is the Foundation of Liberty.” Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes thought they could do better and suggested “Justice the Guardian of Liberty.” It is one of the few architectural elements suggested by a Justice.

Central Figures, East Pediment, United States

Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. (30 June 2015)

With the rear of the building facing east, the central pediment figures acknowledge the foundations of our laws are derived from the east. The central figures are Confucius, Moses and Solon.

Up the Spiral Staircase, United States Supreme Court,

Washington, D.C. (30 June 2015)

The building has two self-supporting, elliptical marble staircases. The cantilevered design means there is no central support for the five-story spiral. Each of the 136 steps is anchored to the outer wall and rests upon the step below it…a marvel of design and engineering.

The Court was established in 1789 by our first Congress. Here are some numbers to put the justices in perspective. Since 1789, there have been (as of January 3, 2019) 12,343 people who have served in one or both houses of Congress and only 114 justices who have served on the Supreme Court.

In the 230 years of the Court’s existence, we have had 45 presidents but just seventeen Chief Justices. Because I believe the Chief Justice of the United States is a position worthy of attention…and because I visit dead people, this post announces my intent to photograph their graves and post some recognition of the men (only men, so far) who have held these positions.

When I am King – More Travel Edicts

In 2014, the would-be King in me posted two rants on driving. One was inspired by rubbernecking and the other addressed more of the exasperating things people do while driving. Recently, I was inspired to draft another Edict as I rode home on Amtrak.

I write this on the ride back to Maryland from Gotham, The Apple, Noo Yawk, the crowded, messy city of my birth. As noted in earlier posts, I like to sit by windows so I can watch the world scroll by outside. I also have one ass that fits in one seat. Airplane passengers understand this concept (except when they are in the waiting areas where they think the seat or two next to them is theirs as well).

London-Heathrow Airport (4 April 2017)

This might be a northeast thing where we are all so aggressive and self-centered. If that’s the case, citizens from the more considerate parts of the Kingdom will have less to worry about.

Let’s start with how we do queues. I haven’t even gotten to my gate and the offenses start. Lines form in the terminal corridors in front of gate agents and fast food joints. Why do people think a line should always be straight away from the counter…even if it extends to the other side of the corridor? It’s a terminal. There are people who need to move in both directions…directly through your line. No one gets the idea that it would be easier for all if someone took the initiative to bend the line to the side and get out of everyone’s way.

Speaking of lines, you have to love how we board trains at Penn Station in Manhattan. When they post the gate number, passengers will begin to line up in front of the escalator that goes down to the track…straight across the entire concourse, of course. When the escalator is open for business, then the rest of the passengers loitering around the terminal immediately rush the entrance. The scene looks like a 50-foot sperm cell…fat in the front and trailing off to a thin tail, where the good doobies who respected the line are. No way to treat your future king.

In the waiting area, it's one thing to spread out when there’s only a handful of passengers around. But when the terminal is crowded and people are looking for a place to sit, pretending to be sleeping or (worse) being totally oblivious of the people in need around you is just plain rude. More than once I have seen guys sitting in one seat with their stuff piled on not one, but TWO more seats.

Candorville by Darrin Bell

**Congratulations to Darrin Bell on his 2019 Pulitzer Prize**

Train passengers seem to be especially inconsiderate when it comes to seating. The following literally describes what I see right now. It’s like a primer on the many forms of rude behaviors. In the space in front of me, a woman has turned her two seats into a nest as she sits against the window with her feet and stuff spread out across the two seats. The guy across from her is “sleeping” in the aisle seat with his backpack on the floor of the empty window seat next to him. That’s two ways to discourage anyone from taking that seat. Across from me is the industrious worker bee guy with his computer on the tray in front but the empty isle seat has papers, calculator, smart phone, etc. He needs that seat to be his desk. Behind him is another sleeper chick who also prefers to use her backpack as a pillow rather than store it overhead.

New Rule – One Ass – One Seat. If you really don’t want another person next to you, buy another ticket. If you want to lie down or spread your stuff next to you, buy another ticket. Seats are for people, not stuff.

Candorville by Darrin Bell

I see this a lot. Even if their assigned seat is in the back of the plane, some folks put their bags in the first empty space they see in the front. That’s almost as bad as the yahoos who think it’s OK to drag onto the plane a stuffed roll-aboard AND briefcase AND shopping bag AND backpack AND food purchase. A few years ago, I complained about a certain airline but I must credit them for actually enforcing their quaint ‘if-your-bag-doesn’t-fit-in-this-box, -you-must-check-it’ rule. At least I saw a gate agent do it that one time. I’m guessing she no longer works for the airline.