Page 18 - ACTL_Sum23
P. 18
Perhaps on Pat’s advice, Prime Minister King insisted that the building should have a gothic peaked dome to match the surrounding parliament buildings. Cormier, the architect, grudgingly com- plied but in a small act of defiance would always refer to the new roof as the dunce cap. The roof has otherwise caused only trouble. Maintenance staff have deter- mined that the vaulted, uninsulated roof creates its own weather systems and has caused many rainstorms to leak into the library below. On the plus side, I guess it’s better for an apex court to have a leaky roof than leaky judgments. ON INTERIOR FEATURES OF THE COURTS The two Courts share several internal features. For example, the Canadian Supreme Court has an outdoor badminton court in a central quadrangle at the ground level, while the U.S. Supreme Court has a basketball court in its top floor gym, known to the cognoscenti as the highest court of the land. I’m quite confident that my colleagues and I could handily take SCOTUS in a game of badminton. Both Courts also have public cafeterias, which is important because there aren’t many restaurants nearby either Court. The Supreme Court of Canada’s cafete- ria used to serve hot meals but it has now been replaced with vending machines that sell high-quality junk food where, I should add, I’m a regular customer. By contrast, SCOTUS has retained its cafeteria, which by tradition falls under the supervi- sion of the newest justice. There have been advances and setback over the years. According to the Wall Street Journal, Justice Stephen Breyer’s great contribution was to introduce a salad bar. He was eclipsed by Justice Elena Kagan, who became wildly popular with a frozen yogurt machine. Justice Samuel Alito proudly recounted how he had received compliments about the shrimp bisque soup and the hummus and broccoli, although there were also com- plaints about slow service, removal of the pudding parfait, too much salt in the oatmeal and not enough mayonnaise in the turkey wrap. Complaints continued under Justice Sotomayor about falling apart mushy veggie burgers and a salmon rice bowl, the taste of which bore no resemblance to salmon. The Wall Street Journal suggested the cafeteria food under Justice Sotomayor be declared unconstitutional; Chief Justice Roberts allegedly sent her a note ad- vising her “you’re fired.” Justice Brett Kavanaugh, noting the absence of pizza, added that to the menu, securing his legacy as the “pizza justice.” 17 JOURNAL