Cadets Visit US Supreme Court in Washington, DC

Cadets taking Advanced Constitutional Law visited the US Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., to observe an oral argument in a case involving a constitutional challenge to partisan gerrymandering (to establish a political advantage for a political party by manipulating district boundaries). The argument was lively with the Justices asking the lawyers questions about whether the First Amendment expressive and associational rights of the former district's voters have been shortened by the legislative action. During the argument, the cadets were seated next to the plaintiff who filed the lawsuit and got his perspective on the case. After the argument, the cadets met with Justice Elena Kagan to discuss judicial decision-making, public perceptions about partisanship at the Court, how she approaches legal writing, her confirmation process upon being nominated and her journey from the environment of Manhattan's Upper West Side to going on various hunting trips with the late Justice Antonin Scalia.