The lecture was some basic American government stuff, which I already knew. But then we got into the details of the court, which I didn't know much about at all. Here are some things I learned:
- Justices are seated by seniority, except for the Chief Justice, who always sits in the center and is not necessarily the most senior judge. The only time we get a new Chief Justice is when that position comes open--justices never "move up" to that spot. After the Chief, the judges sit to his or her left and right, alternating sides, by seniority. The judges at the farthest edges are the least senior.
- The courtroom is always open to the public, which is what the benches at the back are for. Past the railing, the chairs are for those admitted to the Supreme Court Bar. So they are other lawyers, etc.
- In front of the many chairs is where the petitioner and defendant and their attorneys sit. The podium in the center is adjusted with an old fashioned crank. They are standing very close to the justices when they speak!
- To the right of the chairs for the members of the Bar is the area for special dignitaries and guests of the justices--who are also seated by the seniority of the justice they are the guest of.
- To the left of the chairs are some long tables as seating for reporters. They need tables because no recording devices of any kind are allowed, so all notes are taken by hand. Behind the reporters sit the artists, because no photography is allowed.
- The court is asked to hear thousands of cases per year, and they meet together in private to select which cases they will hear. Usually it is between 80 to 100. The justices select these cases based on which are most significant to lawmaking, and of course cases that involve lawsuits between the states.
I hope I got all of that right. It was a lot of information in a 30 minute lecture, and law is not exactly my specialty, so I learned quite a bit.
After leaving the court, I was faced with a few hours to explore. I checked my map and noticed that the Folger Shakespeare Library was nearby. I knew Adam wouldn't be too sad to miss out on that, so I headed on over. It was very quiet and lacking in tourists, compared to everything else around. A lady greeted me and mentioned that there was a tour in 15 minutes, so I just looked around until then. The building has a small Elizabethan theatre similar to the Globe, a great hall with an exhibit on interesting pieces in the library, and a bookstore. The reading room and other areas are closed to the public, but scholars may apply to research there.
Our tour consisted of four people and a guide--which was kind of a nice change. He told us about how this library was founded. Mr. and Mrs. Folger were a wealthy couple who both were interested in Shakespeare and had no children , so they decided to start collecting Shakespeare's works. There was an interest by the scholarly community in making this public, so in the early 1930's the building was built. The interior is Elizabethan, but the exterior is Art Deco and Neoclassical--the first to be modern to the times, the second to fit in with the surrounding architecture. Some people call it "Art Greco". It is decorated with friezes of scenes from the plays.
We saw one of only about 250 copies of Shakespeare's First Folio, which is the first collection of his works published in 1623, 7 years after his death. It was created by publishers as interest in his plays was beginning to fade, and they wanted to renew popularity for their own benefit. It contains 36 of his plays, which would likely have been lost if they had not been gathered at that time. Our guide explained the publishing process at that time, in which each page was individually typeset, and told us that because of that process most of the copies of the Folio have important differences. It is valuable for scholars to have access to several different versions in order to draw conclusions. The Folger has the largest collection of First Folios in the world at 39.
We peeked into the Reading Room, where books rest on special velvet pads so that their spines are not stressed, and leather straps hold the books open to reduce the amount of times they need to be touched. There were several very serious looking people in there just reading away.
The founders room was for the private use of Mr. and Mrs. Folger, but unfortunately he passed away before the library was completed. It contains stained glass of Shakespearean characters and an original painting of Queen Elizabeth.
Overall, it was interesting to me, but probably wouldn't be to anyone who was not the literary sort. I learned a lot and was reminded that there's a lot of Shakespeare that I don't know much about, too.
I left the museum and walked around the Capitol intending to head over to the Smithsonian area and choose a museum for Adam to meet me at when he got off of work. There were police and guards everywhere, which I certainly didn't remember from my last visit here 12 years ago. Of course, things were much different then, and we didn't' have to go through security anywhere but at the White House, as I recall. Now there are metal detectors everywhere, but the police presence was really intimidating to me. I was wondering if it had to do with the Supreme Court nomination hearings, or if something else was going on, or if this was the usual practice. As I continued walking, I saw police on every street corner and then a series of no less than 30 police cars, trucks, and "incident response vehicles" with sirens on passed by. In addition to being tired and hungry, I was starting to get the willies--so I headed over to the nearest Metro station and got going back to Arlington. I of course had no idea what was going on until I got back and got on my computer, only to find out that there had been a shooting at the Holocaust museum. I was several blocks away from there, but a little too close for my own comfort and it was a little unnerving. I am glad I went there on Monday, but I am also so sad that such things are still happening. There's a lot of security at that particular museum--even the cafe, which is separate, had metal detectors--but there are guards outside of the doors as well. I guess that was how the one man was killed. I am so glad that shooter was not able to get into the lobby of the museum, which was (at least on Monday) completely packed with people. In any case, I am going to choose to believe this was a completely isolated incident and be brave!
We had a great dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and an early night. I found out that some of the Smithsonian Museums are open later than I had thought in the summer, so Adam will be able to do some of those with me. I'm glad because even though I like to go at my own pace, it's much more fun with a buddy. :)
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