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Sheesh, the Supreme Court Justices are getting annoying, no?

Here's Adam Liptak about how oral argument has turned into sniping among the Justices:

If you didn’t know it was a Supreme Court argument, you might think you were seeing a catastrophically overbooked cable television show.

The justices of late have been jostling for judicial airtime in a sort of verbal roller derby. Consider an argument last month about the right to counsel. About 15 minutes in, Justice Stephen G. Breyer tried to ask a question. The effort failed, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg jumped in. A half-hour passed before Justice Breyer had another chance, and now his attempt was interrupted by Justice Antonin Scalia, who said Justice Breyer was asking irrelevant questions. Then Justice Scalia pressed a point that did not interest Justice Breyer. As the lawyer tried to answer Justice Scalia, Justice Breyer stopped him. “Skip that one,” Justice Breyer said of Justice Scalia’s question.

Earlier, as Justice Anthony M. Kennedy was trying to get a word in edgewise, Justice Scalia succeeded in handing off the ball to a frequent ally, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. “Maybe Justice Alito can ask his question,” Justice Scalia said as he finished making his own point.

Seth P. Waxman, a former United States solicitor general, was caught in the cross-fire. He was answering a question from Justice Sonia Sotomayor when Chief Justice John G. Roberts tried to interrupt. “Counsel,” the chief justice said. Mr. Waxman kept talking, which seemed to irritate the chief justice. “Counsel!” the chief justice repeated, now in a raised voice. (The exclamation point is in the official transcript.) Mr. Waxman was contrite. “Mr. Chief Justice, I’m sorry,” he said.

Legal Services to honor Kathy Williams and Jennifer Bailey

This is going to be a nice event that you should come to. May 5 at the WAREhOUSE at 6:30.

"I didn’t sense a hostility about being Cuban-American...

...but I sensed a distrust from the committee about being a young mother who wanted to be a judge.”

That was Judge Altonaga responding to a question from a student at her former school. The Herald has the nice story about her return to the school here:

The first Cuban-American woman ever appointed to a U.S. federal court bench said studying at Notre Dame Academy in Miami taught her the meaning of tolerance. It was the end of 1970s, one of the most tumultuous periods of racial discontent in Miami’s history. Her all-girls high school was one of the most racially integrated in the city. “I remember in my last year, coming back from a graduation night,” said Cecilia María Altonaga, who graduated in 1980.

“Our parents had to pick us up from the school, and the riots were going on at the same time. The school was closed. It was dangerous.” There were no final exams that year, due to the violence. But inside the school, a different story about race was unfolding. “This was a place that exhibited all these different racial/ethnic groups coexisting, working together, overcoming differences,” said Altonaga. “There is this perception that all Catholic girls schools are elitist or homogenous or they exclude people. This was quite the opposite, one of the most diverse groups of young women working together.”

She returned to her alma mater — which soon after she graduated merged with Archbishop Curley High School — on Saturday to talk about her career in the law to about two dozen current students. The forum followed a special Mass at the Archbiship Curley-Notre Dame High School, which each year honors an alum who now serves the community as an attorney or judge.

How much does it cost to retrofit a courtroom?

Judge Jordan is in a long securities fraud trial right now. But that's nothing compared to what he has coming up with the Mutual Benefits case, which is expected to last 8 months. Now, the government has asked to retrofit a courtroom to allow for two juries to preside at the same time because of severance issues. I feel for Judge Jordan on this case.

Reading Administrative Orders on Friday Afternoon

Yes, the exciting life of a federal blogger. (Rumpole, on the other hand, is posting April Fools jokes).

Well, I'm sure you've been waiting on the edge of your seats to find out about the new magistrate pairings. Here they are!

And Judge Torres is up for re-appointment.

Need to have more .... Click here.