Hi Dahlia,
The court tries to pretend the first Monday in October is no big deal–no greeting from the principal, no “welcome back” announcements from the chief justice, no fanfare at all. They’ll launch right into the first oral argument; a sleep-inducing tax case starts things off today. But this being an election year, the ambiance may be more like a livestock auction than the first day of school. Spectators will be eyeballing the justices to see who came out of the summer looking healthy and who didn’t. It’s the start of “retirement watch,” and the justices know it. Back in 1992, the late Justice Harry Blackmun said he felt like Bill Clinton was sizing up “us old goats” for coffins.
We can compare notes later, but all reports indicate the goats on the court today are exceedingly chipper. Rehnquist turned 76 yesterday, Ginsburg came through her cancer treatments successfully, and Stevens, 80, still knocks them dead on the tennis court. Scalia’s lost 30 pounds on the Atkins diet. And Souter, speaking of lunch, seems destined for a long life now that he’s changed his noon repast. That New Hampshire hermit used to eat the same lunch every day at the court. Yogurt or cottage cheese with an apple–the whole apple, core and all. But then someone told him apple seeds might be poisonous. So now, he leaves the seeds on the plate. Prudent, as always.
