Interns (L to R) FRONT: Stephen Payne, Yvonne Usanase, Min Kyung Jeon, Alexandra Colevas
BACK: Michael Mastroianni, Jacob Steiner, Dorian Cockrell, Ethan Cheatle
Interns from several departments at APLU traveled to the Supreme Court for a presentation on the procedures and history of the court chambers. We also had a great opportunity to hear from Maj. Gen.William Suter, who serves as the high court's clerk.
Suter explained his background and how he became the clerk after retiring from a distinguished military career—including basic training with Elvis Presley.
Suter also described the high level of service of the justices of the court. He used several examples to show how the court tries to evade politics in their operation. Suter was very kind to answer many questions from the group of interns and provided great perspectives from his tenure since he has served the court since 1991.
Before our meeting with Suter, we attended a visitors’
session in the court chambers with a curator who explained the history of the
chambers. He noted who sits in each chair in the courtroom and why. Perhaps one
of the most surprising points of his lecture was when he noted that there is a
basketball court directly above the courtroom itself, a court higher than the
highest court.
Overall, the trip was informative and impressive and gave many
of the interns new respect for the highest court in the land.
