Supreme Court bar inducts 26 Tulanians

Tulane Law School professor Amy Gajda and 25 graduates of the law school went before the justices for induction into the U.S. Supreme Court bar on April 7. Law school dean David Meyer, a Supreme Court bar member who clerked for Justice Byron White in 1992–93, presented the attorneys and they were sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts.

Tulane Law School dean David Meyer, left, chats with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Samuel Alito, who congratulated members of the Tulane group after their swearing-in. (Photo by Beth Lavin)

The morning began with a continental breakfast in the West Conference Room, one of the Supreme Court's grandest ceremonial spaces, and a briefing by Scott Harris, who just months ago succeeded 1962 Tulane alumnus William Suter as clerk of the Supreme Court.

Following the swearing-in in open court, the group returned to the conference room and met privately with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Samuel Alito, who each stopped by to congratulate the lawyers after the ceremony.

Following a luncheon, the Tulane group took a special tour of the U.S. Capitol, including the old Supreme Court chamber where McCulloch v. Maryland, the Dred Scott case and other landmark decisions were argued, and met with Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, a 1988 Tulane Law School graduate.

Tulane alumni from 14 states and Washington, D.C., took part in the event. This was Tulane Law School's second alumni swearing-in ceremony. The school will host its next alumni swearing-in event on April 6, 2015.

Linda P. Campbell is director of communications for the Tulane Law School.