Reply #129: I don't remember exactly, but

[huskerlaw]

it was something like, "Justice O'Connor, I'm taking a class on federalism and we recently discussed Bush v. Gore in the context of states'rights. Most of the class discussion focused on how the decision did not fit with many members of the Court's typical stance on states' rights...yours included. How do you explain the apparent inconsistency?"

She didn't really answer my question, but she did admit that it was inconsistent and kept going back to it being a one-time decision...that it didn't set precedence. At a luncheon later, which I didn't attend, so this is second-hand, she stated something to the affect of having made a mistake or wishing she hadn't decided the way she did. I don't know if she meant that she would have voted with the minority or if she meant her reasoning would have been different.

As for the professors being horrified...this was 2002, it was the big elephant in the room. Everyone wanted to ask it, but at the same time, there are certain rules of decorum when you're dealing with Supreme Court justices...particularly in a law school setting. Most of them knew my politics and had heard me call the case "absolute shit," among other things...more than once. So when I stood up to ask the question they were understandably nervous. As it turns out, they all agreed that my question was respectful and academic, so they had no problem with it.