The great marble-colonnaded, square chamber was filled with Easter Monday tourists. At the stroke of noon, the U.S. Supreme Court Justices seated themselves in their high-backed, black leather chairs behind the long mahogany bench.
After three weeks of recess, this was a decision day. Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone, impressive as always, leaned forward, nodded to Associate Justice Wiley B. Rutledge. Justice Rutledge read the Court's majority opinion—a routine case. The Chief Justice, his solid face impassive, swiftly read a brief dissent.
Much the same scene had been enacted many times before in...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
