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jurisprudence: The law, lawyers, and the court.

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By Dahlia Lithwick
Posted Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2005, at 1:08 PM ET
Her lips are sealed Click image to expand.

Harriet Miers told Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., this week that "nobody knows my views on Roe v. Wade." She thus joins a distinguished line of Supreme Court nominees who have ostensibly never discussed this seminal abortion case.

For instance, Clarence Thomas testified at his confirmation hearing that, even though Roe was handed down while he was at law school, he had no recollection of ever discussing the case; he was too busy being married and having a baby and working his way through school to talk about it. When pressed by Sen. Pat Leahy on this point, he insisted he had never "debated" the case and never publicly discussed his position on it.

Turns out, Thomas isn't a huge fan of Roe.

So, we at Slate wonder: How common is it for lawyers and law students and law professors to never, ever throughout the course of their entire careers discuss the merits of Roe v. Wade? Take a minute and answer this simple polling question: How many of you can honestly swear that nobody has ever heard your views on Roe? Nonlawyers are free to answer as well. As are people who have deliberately avoided discussing this or any other case in anticipation of being tapped for the Supreme Court in the future.

Also, if Harriet Miers has in fact discussed Roe with you personally, we would love to hear from you as well. So would the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Kindly send in your answers to .

By mailing us, you give Slate permission to use your name, unless you specify otherwise.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

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Dahlia Lithwick is a Slate senior editor.
Photograph of Harriet Miers by Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images.
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