Three Justices Return to Yale Law School | America's Written Constitution

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Sonia Sotomayor return to the law school they each graduated from in the 1970s, receive its Award of Merit, and talk for ninety minutes about how they actually work. Dean Robert Post opens with an account of each justice's path, and professor Kate Stith leads the conversation. It moves from what drew them to law with no lawyers in their families, through the traits they credit and the ones they regret, to the details outsiders rarely hear. The Court communicates about cases almost entirely on paper rather than by email. There are still spittoons at the bench. Justices sit at lunch in the chair of the justice whose seat they inherited. Sotomayor describes the district court as her formative experience and the perspective she brings because of it, Alito describes the isolation of a regional circuit and the opposite experience of running a U.S. Attorney's office, and Thomas names the EEOC as the job that taught him to stay calm under sustained criticism. All three argue that the Court lacks something in its composition, whether geographic range, criminal defense experience, or practice outside large firms. The session closes with each describing one of the others, and with the advice they gave students that morning. Chapters: 00:00 The Yale Law School Award of Merit 05:02 Introducing Justice Thomas 09:40 Introducing Justice Alito 12:44 Introducing Justice Sotomayor 20:34 What drew each of them to law 28:54 The traits that helped, and hindered 35:14 Baseball, coffee, and a motor coach 46:25 What they are reading 52:45 Law school, in hindsight 1:01:05 The jobs that prepared them 1:13:04 What surprised them at the Court 1:23:33 Why the cases are harder than they look 1:27:14 What the Court's composition is missing 1:36:08 What each says about the others 1:41:22 Advice to students Learning objectives: After watching, you'll be able to: - Describe how the justices communicate and deliberate internally - Compare district court, circuit court, and prosecutorial experience as preparation for the Court - Explain why a case reaching the Supreme Court is rarely an easy one - Identify the forms of diversity the justices themselves say the Court lacks - Summarize the advice each gives about building a career in law 📺 Watch the full playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCq6-l8oFuvk 🎓 Enroll on Coursera for assessments and a certificate: https://www.coursera.org/learn/written-constitution 🌐 Explore more learning opportunities on Yale Online: https://online.yale.edu/courses/americas-written-constitution