Richmond Reflections

I spent the last couple of days in Richmond, Virginia, in front of the Fourth Circuit for two oral arguments. I feel better about the one on Tuesday (a Fourth Amendment issue) than the one on Wednesday (sentencing). We’ll see how it goes. But, enough about court – on to more pressing matters:

• The public toilets of Virginia are apparently under attack! The toilets at several of the rest areas along I-64 were closed, replaced with Port-a-Pots. Even the men’s room on the fourth floor of the courthouse was working at 1/3rd capacity. What exactly is going on in the Old Dominion?

• If you’re ever in Richmond looking for a place to eat, I recommend The White Dog in the Fan District. According to the menu, the restaurant is the brainchild of Max, the white dog in issue, who always wanted to be a restaurateur, and run by Max’s owners (“mom’s” artwork adorns the walls). Max is involved as a recipient of the day’s leftovers.

• On Wednesday, the panel hearings were delayed by an en banc hearing which, of course, involves all (well, most) of the judges. That meant that all the attorneys there for regular arguments crowded into the big courtroom to check out the action. As it turned out, the case being argued was the Anson Dorrance sexual harassment case, so I was passingly familiar with the facts. It was fun watching counsel and the court trying to avoid using the word “fuck,” which was fairly relevant to the facts of the case!
  

Ah, the joys of oral argument!