Getting Seats
What it took to get into the Court for the D.C. v. Heller case, March 18, 2008:
Heller and his two attorneys were originally allotted six seats total, including for themselves, and had to disappoint people who believed they should be there. I wasn't able to find out how many D.C. secured but I suspect it was more (three at the Petitioner table, the mayor and police chief who sat right in front of me and had aides; Dellinger's wife was to my right, but not sure how her seat was obtained).
A special section reserved for the Supreme Court press corps filled as fast as the case was announced, no surprise there.
An allotment of 50 seats for members of the Supreme Court bar also filled nearly immediately, and may have been expanded for this special case. Personal friends of the Justices get preference, and other court and government officials with “pull” manage to secure an unknown number of seats. It was by far the hottest ticket in town -- history in the making -- the Roe v. Wade of the gun issue except Roe wasn’t as important.
A total of 50 seats are reserved for the public, on a first-come-first-served basis, though a reference book I have falsely says there are 170. Eugene Volokh in his blog responded to numerous requests on when to arrive and opined that a) no one really knows, which is correct, and b) get there early or abandon all hope.
In my case, the picture included:
-- spend six years researching and writing Supreme Court Gun Cases with two of the top Second Amendment attorneys in the country
-- get involved with the Goldwater Institute free-market think tank locally which brought me into contact with Bob Levy of the Cato Institute at a book signing in Phoenix
-- become friends with Bob who spearheaded this case, funnel him what case-related info I can, and meet others at Cato including an attorney who, as a fan of my book, got copies into the Supreme Court’s library
-- listen hard as friend and fellow Cartridge Family Band member Bob Blackmer convinces me we ought to go to D.C. to see this historic case
-- allocate a thousand dollars each for airfare, pocket money and a cheap but pricey Washington hotel
-- breathe a sigh of relief when the airfare locks in 60 days in advance at around $400, and a few weeks later has risen to more than $800
-- call every contact I could think of for weeks, for a strategy to obtain seats; Levy says don’t even try it will be a total zoo
-- find out about the seat allotments and historical cases of camping out overnight
-- get details from Court Police, PIO office, Court gift shop and others on what’s allowed on the waiting line (like a chair and blanket, though not even an overcoat may enter the Courtroom and must be checked or abandoned)
-- prepare to arrive two nights in advance to ensure the trip is successful
-- learn from one highly placed attorney friend that the Marshal of the Court has an allotment of seats for guests of the Marshal, and here’s the direct phone line
-- get a ton of insider info from that office, including a suggestion to write a short letter requesting a seat for Bob and myself, which took more than a day to compose to my satisfaction
-- get elated and depressed when the Marshal faxed a reply granting me one seat;
-- continue with preparations to support the overnight vigil effort now only for Bob, who has located and purchased military-grade thermals and a portable heater;
-- remain with him all day on line Monday (for moral support but it was totally fun and exciting and the place to be) until well past when the line was longer than the available seats;
-- make runs for caffeinated sodas and food and relieve him for pit stops;
-- wish him well and leave for the hotel room five Metro stops away as night was falling, to write and post a pre-game report, rejoining him bright and early the next day;
-- socialize briefly in line with everyone who knew me from the day before;
-- revel in the media/activist circus in front of the Court and do some interviews;
-- enter through the Maryland Avenue entrance to present my letter of passage from the Marshal’s office, while Bob was issued pass #7 outside;
-- bump into Bob on the ground floor and make some introductions, snap photos, and watch the honchos before Bob’s quick departure to get back on the line to get in;
-- make my way upstairs as instructed, have my name checked off the official list, quickly check everything I had in two lockers, and put my butt in a chair. Easy.
Read more: The Case That Almost Wasn’t
Tags: D.C. v. Heller, Supreme Court
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