This is perhaps the most Washington D.C. PSA ever. I’ve seen several of these COVID-19 safety PSAs in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, and agree that wearing a mask for Ruth Bader Ginsburg is totally worth it.
There were also less-successful PSAs about some dude named Ryan.
Washington DC COVID warning.
It’s shortly after 3 a.m. and I’m walking across D.C. in a black suit carrying two narrow duffle bags.
I am prepared to 1) get mugged, or 2) explain to a police officer that I’m not a hitman, but rather a tax lawyer headed to the Supreme Court.
The duffle bags contain branded folded chairs from my law firm. I am on my way to a hotel to meet an associate lawyer who flew in from one of our other offices.
I make it to the hotel without getting mugged or stopped by a cop.
The associate is outside of the hotel with a woman from a competing law firm in New York. Introductions are made and we then have the most ridiculous time getting a cab – the three taxis in front of the hotel are not interested in driving us only 2 miles to court. They would rather wait for a more lucrative fare to a far flung airport.
It’s about 4 a.m. and there are already dozens of people camped out in line.
Professional line-standers in front of the Supreme Court.
The lines in front of the Supreme Court before the Wayfair v. South Dakota oral arguments.
The case that attracted this odd mix of tax lawyers, tourists, and professional line-standers is South Dakota v. Wayfair. This is the first major state and local tax (SALT) case to reach the Supreme Court in about 25 years and my SALT professors have been buzzing about the case ever since my first week at Georgetown’s tax LL.M. program.
In August, I never imagined that I would actually be present at such an important Supreme Court oral argument. (The timing at the end of the semester is terrible.) And yet here I am, in the middle of the night among new coworkers.
I first started listening to podcasts in earnest back in 2015 and the habit endured. I only listen to Soundcloud while working, but podcasts and audiobooks are essentials for dog walks and metro rides.
Here are my favorite recent and current podcasts, in no particular order.
This brief six-episode podcast is creepy as it is fascinating. Host Dan Taberski looks into the disappearance of fitness guru Richard Simmons and interviews a wide array of Simmons’ friends and fans (including Willam!)
My new state embarrassed itself in front of the Supreme Court last week.
Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller attempted to defend Texas’s anti-abortion law to the court, and it was a hot mess.
Audio of the oral arguments for Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt are finally live on the Supreme Court’s website, and it is worth taking a listen.
This is the court’s first abortion case in 9 years and involves a Texas regulation which dramatically reduces abortion access for Texas women.
Slate’s Amicus podcast did a really interesting episode on the case.
The Atlantic’s story on the case is also a pretty comprehensive summary, but it is worth listening to the full audio of the hearing.
Supreme Court says NO.
Professor V: “Does protecting attorney-client privilege actually foster the communication? The Supreme Court’s answer is ‘we don’t know, we don’t care, we aren’t going to go there, and we don’t have to!”
Beware
Professor V: “Remember General Counsel is not your lawyer. They will sell you down the river!”
