>> coming up next, stories about the current supreme court food traditions. including food preferences, topics of conversation shared meals. we also learn about customs dating to the 19th and 20th century from the supreme court curator. if this discussion place at the national museum of american history in washington and is over an hour. >> we are thrilled to see so many people here for this program. my name is john gray and i have the privilege of being the director of your museum of natural history. particularly on nights like tonight when we can look at american history in a unique way. we are honored to be joined by two nights panel. supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg. [applause]

>> supreme court justice sonya sotomayor. [applause] kathryn fitz. [applause] and supreme court publications director. claire kurtzman. [applause] >> it is now my privilege to introduce the board certified cardiologist, jazz musician, and former president of cornell university and university of iowa. he is interested in learning and most importantly, it he is a pescatarian.

>> thank you for the introduction and thank you on behalf of the american people for the great job you do. so innovative and creative. this is an amazing museum. [applause] >> and especially in such an interesting election year, we appreciate all you and your colleagues are doing to share so many aspects of america. esteemed colleagues and friends, welcome to this unique opportunity to find out more about the highest court in the

landing and how its members have worked together. the supreme court and the smithsonian have long had close ties. since the 19 century, the chief justice is served as the smithsonian board of regents. i am indebted to chief john roberts for his work in this capacity and the guidance he has provided me and my transition in the first year at the smithsonian and the education about the smithsonian and his ongoing leadership. justice sotomayor and justice ginsburg, i thank you for your crucial work which underpins our democracy. thank you. [applause] >> i know i speak for everyone when i say you are pioneers, role models, and exemplar the nuanced and simple thinking which undergird the american law, and i am glad to say, friends of the smithsonian. they have shared their fascinating stories with us as

part of our smithsonian associates program and they are both represented in the national portrait gallery. the painting also features justice kagan and former justice o'connor. i encourage all of you to see it, it is on display through october. the national postal museum has stamps that feature stamps -- legal giants. and i am proud to say it features sandra day o'connor when she was sworn in as the first female justice in the supreme court. the seismic shifts and our nation's history have been characterized i struggle. the politics have been frequently hotly contested. as this year's contentious the seismic shifts and our nation's history have been characterized i struggle. the politics have been frequently hotly contested. as this year's contentious presidential election unfolds, it is good to remember that

politics can end at the edge of a plate. this is because food brings us altogether. it is communal. it is ritual. food has always bound civilization. it is evident in the centuries-old tradition of breaking red. one of my favorite variations of the term is, it is hard to remain enemies when you have broken bread together. nothing exemplifies that sense of it more than the close relationship shared by justice ginsburg and the late justice antonin scalia. the picture of the two of them on top of an elephant in the top of -- on the top of an india to me was worth many thousands of words. these millions -- these brilliant colleagues put that aside when breaking bread. convening people to explore our shared humanity and wisdom is what the smithsonian is all about. from discussions of current topics to educational programs to events like this which

examine our common bonds, the smithsonian is at heart a place where people can come together. thank you for gathering so we can hear fascinating stories and for taking food for thought. john? [applause] >> think you very much, secretary. and thank you to our partners at the supreme court historical society. we also welcome the staff of the supreme court in the offices of justice sotomayor and justice ginsburg and many of our other guests. we are honored to be joined by two members of the nation's highest court and they come together to talk about food. in fact, this is one of those rare and special times when the justices will speak publicly on topics outside the law. we are the home of julia child's

kitchen and so many other treasures related to food and its consumption and production and we do so for a reason. we make the intimate link between food and our history and in doing so we help our nation understand the past in order to make sense of the present and shape a more humane future. through history, food stores, and our own history of food, we create an awareness and empathy for all. with that, a few ground rules. please limit your photography to the first two minutes of the discussion after i leave the stage. remember to turn off your cell phones. it is now our honored to introduce two nights pattern on the fascinating, delicious topic of food at the supreme court. please join me in introducing our panel. justice ruth ginsburg join the court in 1993, formerly she had a distinguished legal career. justice ginsburg attended harvard law school and received a degree from columbia law school and served on the law review at both schools. justice sonia sotomayor joined the supreme court in 2009, previously as part of it an extensive and distinguished legal career, she served in u.s. district court, southern district of new york, she earned a jd from yale law school where she served as editor of the law journal. kathryn fits and the -- and the

-- thank you all for joining us at both schools. justice sonia sotomayor joined the supreme court in 2009, previously as part of it an extensive and distinguished legal career, she served in u.s. district court, southern district of new york, she earned a jd from yale law school where she served as editor of the law journal. kathryn fits and the -- and the -- thank you all for joining us at

our table and we look forward to this discussion. thank you. [applause] >> thank you for that introduction. on behalf of the supreme court historical society, i would like to thank the smithsonian for partnering with us at this event and for hosting us in this beautiful room and especially to the staff for organizing it. on this cold february night -- on a cold february night in 1790, the justices met and held their first session of the

supreme court and new york city. after they adjourned, they went to a tavern in lower manhattan and to eight. they dined with new york's district judges, the attorney general, and had a good time. they made 13 toasts, including one to the president, one to the new national judiciary. so, since its very inception, the supreme court justices have found ways to come together and share meals. as they are appointed for life, they often said on the bench together for years if not decades. and they look for ways to enhance cordiality and cooperation by breaking bread together. tonight we are going to examine the evolution of some of the court customs and evolving food

from the early 19th century and hear about what some of these distinguished justices have to say about current practices. let's start with the marshall court era. john marshall, the great justice who presided over the cord. there were six and then seven justices and they were appointed from all up and down the eastern seaboard from georgia to kentucky. they came to washington to the supreme court sessions a loan. they left their wives and children in their hometown. they did not move their families to washington because the term was very short. during the john marshall irick, it was about two months long. accordingly, chief justice john marshall arranged for them all to live together in a boarding house and they had almost all of their meals together. so, catherine, why did john marshall want the justices to live, dine, work, and socialize

.together? >> i would say that the primary reason was he wanted to build a bond between the justices. it also goes to say the courts had a nomadic existence. they were in new york and then moved to philadelphia and then came to washington. we have to remember in washington it was not the city we know today. there were very few places for the justices and members of congress to come to washington. so they lived in the boarding houses and gained that fraternal bond and to come together. john marshall also wanted the justices to come together and speak in one voice to give the court some stature. clare: when they were eating in the boarding houses where they had a private room or with other guests?

catherine: they probably shared some meals with other guests. but they met in private if they were talking about cases. clare: so they actually ate dinner and deliberated case that the same time? catherine: according to stories, that is the case. clare: so there was no conference room available to them at the court? [laughter] what is the situation like in the capital? catherine: i should have prefaced my remarks with that. when the court moved to washington there was the presidents house, the capital, and even though we had a third branch of government there was no place for the supreme court to me. so graciously, a room was made in the basement of the capital but that was a small committee

room. i think was 30 feet by 35 feet. and in this way, the supreme court had their first chamber on the first floor of the capitol building. so that is the era when that john marshall comes to washington and leaves the court. clare: john marshall had a great fondness for a fortified wine imported from the portuguese island of material. he was not alone. it was popular with many of the founding fathers including thomas jefferson. apparently the shaking and the funnel like conditions in the ship's hold david a compact, caramel flavor they like. catherine, tell us a little bit about john marshall and madeira. catherine: i think he gained his taste for madera in a richmond. i hope i pronounce it correctly, he was part of a club in richmond that was essentially a

barbecue club for gentlemen and john marshall is one of the founding members and they had their own punch and madeira was one of the primary ingredients. cognac, rome, sugar, and madeira was one of the primary it was definitely one of the primary ingredients. akin to coursers and they would throw these are rings to pegs them of the reasons they got together was to have this bond and john marshall was vigorous thatnforcing roles politics was not to be discussed. if anyone was caught discussing, were find a case of champagne which would then be consumed at the next meeting. [laughter] bottlesly he had labeled that he brought with him to the boarding house. >> i think there were local merchants that played on john

fondness forother medira. gave us the theory of approval with john marshall. marshal had a great ally on the named joseph man from massachusetts. paly he had a weak stomach and was a teetotaler. that did not last long. that theto his wife justices tried hard not to drink too much wine. they had a rule that only on rainy days and for medicinal purposes with a abide. [laughter] apparently this was not a bright line rule. if this is true. >> you know the story about the rainy day told various versions. they truck only when it rains.

the chief justice said, he looked out the window and the sun is shining brightly and he said, somewhere in the world it is raining. [laughter] >> justice ginsburg, do you have an anecdote as well? >> they were very close. she did not like him to be away at the capital city for weeks at a time. she decided she would come along with him. , chief justice shehall, a rather uneasy -- said it would be all right if he dined with her. she must not be around when they are discussing cases.

distractt want her to just a story from the work he would do. out, sarah stomach was no better than joseph's and the alcohol do not agree with her so she left before the term ended, but it was the beginning of the end of the boarding house. have this i boardinghouse fail when i can be living with my family? left and thenn another and another, and what happened when the boarding house style of living ended, dissent began to appear within the court. john marshall did a remarkable thing. the tradition was that each justice wrote his own opinion.

if there was a panel of five judges, there would be five opinions. was this should be, one opinion that would speak for the court. there should be no dissent. he thought all the decisions were written by the chief justice. when the boardinghouse started to go down, so did the unanimity . >> there's evidence that the marshall court justices like to share regional mood products. -- food products. hamsmarshall sent virginia two-story in boston. and he reciprocated by sending

down salted cod. and a recipe for how to cook it. it is not easy. you have to cope it -- soak it. justiceson is for both , starting with justice ginsburg, are there other examples of justices today on the court bringing food from their hometown from the travels? >> hunting trees. we had a hunter on the court who would bring everything back from fowl, to bambi. very generous in sharing. justice breyer, not so long ago decided that he needed to introduce his grandchildren to pheasants combine our colleague -- caught by our colleague and presented it cooked to the

grandchildren unexplained had to be careful because there might game.lets in the a refuse to eat it. -- they refused to eat it. >> beef jerky, another favorite. by sandra day o'connor's ranch. on the family year sheof times a would bring a large supply of jerky. >> did you try it? it was very spicy. >> very spicy. >> i would have loved it. [laughter] breyer woulde bring wine for the court to share? >> only on very special

occasions. [laughter] it was the traditional dinner before the state of the union message. when you're, justice kennedy came with a couple bottles -- one year, justice kennedy came with a couple bottles. i fells the first time asleep during the state of the union. [laughter] >> i understand that when you first join the court, you brought a treat with you from new york to the other justices. >> i should not be telling tales but the colleagues on the panel with me, i was told enjoyed s soes so i brought -- sweet i brought a box full of new york pastries with me. i learned later that the treat

she is most fond of is muffins. [laughter] >> now we have our own pastry chef and the court. >> many justices have had food related traditions with their clerks. harry blackmun like to have breakfast with his clerks every morning in the supreme court cafeteria. love justice warren burger good food and wine and was a good chef and would make bean soup for his clerks on saturday. i've been try to get a recipe for the soup but it seems to be a little of this and a little bit of whatever is around. quite delicious. as for your the justices, d have particular -- do you have particular food traditions? >> lots of them. i love food.

routinely on weekends when the bagel shop near the court was opened, it is not closed, i would bring bagels on the weekend. by also to cream cheeses and we would spend a lunch hour eating fresh bagels. homewith my law clerks at fairly regularly -- i eat with my law clerks at home fairly regularly, every couple of months. they are charged with finding a new delivery place that can deliver some food that is new for us. it is also in the clerk's manual that one of the responsibilities during the year is to identify the restaurant i have not eaten at. [laughter] it has expanded my knowledge of pc restaurants -- dc restaurants. relatedmy final food is whenn with my clerks

i travel, particularly abroad, but anywhere in the united states that might be different than a local spot, i bring back chocolate on that place or the traditional sweets. if you come to my office, almost always, there is candy which is unusual for a diabetic. [laughter] i once had a child asked me how could a diabetic have candy in her office? , people like it and they come to talk to me when they know there is candy. [laughter] >> sometimes i make a detour. [laughter] especially around halloween when the supply is enormous. >> i have a big halloween ball. -- bowl. >> as he mentioned, getting back to the 19th century, by the 40's, the justices were bringing their families with them and

living in washington. they became part of the washington establishment and washington society. you were instrumental in helping the supreme court historical society get published the memoir of the wife of john marshall harlan. could you explain a little bit about the elaborate social functions that the supreme court had to undertake? word about her memories, i was trying to get information for a talk with the supreme court historical society on the wives of the supreme court and there was precious little because most

, they were men. the library of congress found buried among the justices takers -- papers, this manuscript for memories of a long life. vona harlan,y of mel a girl grew up in indianapolis and an appellation family. she married john work all -- john marshall from kentucky, a slave state and it is a remarkable book. thanks to the historical in the modern library. one of the things that she mondays. is at home the wives were expected to have

who wanted toe come. there could be 200-300 people on monday. they would serve scones and kes and sandwiches. sometimes they would hire musicians so people could dance. was not paid for by the federal government. it was the private responsibility of the justices. in the course of the afternoon, the justice would come out for 15-20 minutes. this went on for a long time. >> until the great depression when that put an end to this? very expensive -- and to this. -- end to this. very expensive. >> they had a ladies dining room

. it got to be a little embarrassing when two of the story, how we change that the supreme court is a very tradition place. sandra o'connor and i thought, how should we suggest to the chief that the ladies dining room should be renamed? she came up with a brilliant idea. let's tell him we want to call it the natalie cornell dining room. his wife had died some years before and so we know how that. >> let's shift gears and talk about the lunch break.

understand that in the 19th court sessions last tom 11-5 and were shortened 1230. what did the justices do about lunch? >> while oral arguments were going on, one or two justices at a time would slip behind the bench and the messengers would set up tables and the justices would eat lunch behind the bench while oral arguments were going on. [laughter] if you were sitting in the courtroom listening to oral arguments, you cannot see the justices eating because they were behind the bench or a screen, could you hear them? >> in the courtroom come the bench is raised in there's a partition and an opening behind the three center case. there was a partition so the justices would be seated at

these tables. you could hear the clattering of knives and forks and dishes. [laughter] the messengers would some sides -- sometimes bring meals. if you're wondering why have this prop, there is a story that is repeated that one of the justices decided that they wanted to have a bit of champagne with their lunch and as the messenger was tried to open the bottle, supposedly the bench.lew out over the [laughter] when some of the oral advocates concerned that there was not the core them on the bench when a couple of them had slipped away? >> there was good there was one instance when two members did not attend an oral argument because they were ill and again, we would have one or two theices slipping behind bench to have lunch and as the story goes, an attorney at the justice,ask the chief

are we sure there's a quorum? the need to be a quorum of six justices. assured thee fuller attorney that even though you can't see them, he can probably hear a few of my colleagues behind the bunch and -- bench and ask the attorney -- asked the attorney to proceed. i think a few weeks after that incident, around 1898, the court then initiated a lunch break. a half hour only between 2:00-2:30. >> i have been researching a supreme court cookbook and i found some anecdotes of justices bringing the lunchbox to the court and brown biking it. why would they do that if they had a cafeteria? >> as you will hear later on, we

had certain justices that like certain things for lunch. that is one of the reasons that the justices brought. and also because of the timing and the half-hour, it was elected could have lunch at a restaurant. there were times when the senate restaurant was also closed because the court was meeting, sometimes the senate would not be in session. i also learned that the senate also had lunch in its counters. the court inherited space from the senate over time, i think they were close to the senate restaurant so sometimes food would be brought to them. >> 1935, the supreme court got its own building and what were the facilities like? was inf justice taft charge of the supreme court building commission and so one of the many requirements for the new supreme court building, when

they were finally able to get a home of their own was that there would not only be a cafeteria for the public and for the attorneys because within a short window, the attorneys were also try to go out and find something for lunch. there would be a cafeteria and the justices would have their own separate dining rooms and had to accommodate at least 18 people and it had to be in close proximity to the justices officer. >> to half an hour lunch break 1970 when chief justice burger extended to an hour. i will start with justice ginsburg, you now have a full hour, a beautiful justices dining room, what goes on during do allch break and to -- the justices try to attend? >> i would defer to my

colleagues on that. she is a regular. [laughter] i will show up whenever the court is concurrent so we can confirm the morning. i will goch break with my colleagues. whenionally other times into town whenr john paul stevens is with us and for birthdays and that it's a nice tradition. whenever the justice has a birthday, that she brings in someone -- the chief brings in we sing-- some wine and happy birthday. we are missing our course leader because most of them can't --

chorus leader because most of them can't carry a tune. [laughter] >> i got regularly. it is a wonderful experience. we have lunch and after every everyargument and after conference day and ruth comes to the lunch regularly on conference days. there generally is at least five people attending, five of the nine justices. occasionally more. all of us have fairly active schedule so it is hard to make it even for myself every lunch. but justices will come somewhat regularly on their own pattern of regularity. most everybody will come when justicesur retired return for a visit. whether it is justice o'connor

or another justice. we do have the birthday celebration. you asked what we talk about? chiefe a role similar to justice john marshall's rule ,hich is we don't talk about well different, we don't talk about cases. that is our absolute rule. there is no topic that is off-limits but we try to avoid controversy and so we are very guarded about raising topics that we think might create hostility. that does not mean we don't talk about politics, but it is not in the steps that we might do in the privacy of our homes. the most common conversation is about fascinating books that we are reading. all the justices are voracious

readers and someone is always reading something that they think the rest of us would like. we sometimes have conversations about interesting exhibits in the wonderful museums. that is how i learned they were here. i did not have to look them up. i just wait for a colleague to tell me and i figure out which ones i want to go to. we will tell funny stories. someone will tell about an experience on the vacation or an experience with a grandchild or child. just normal types of conversation that people have want to get to know each other as individuals rather than as just a false -- justices .ppeared -- justices >> one topic is sports. i'm sorry, ruth, human

rights. -- you are right. i only contribute on baseballs. . >> we should start this up again, every once in a while we would invite a guest to live in the lunch table conversation. years,g back on past we've had supreme court justices, one from south africa, one from india, we have had secretaries of state, condoleezza rice was a lunch guest and the head of the zoo, andsmithsonian institute of the shakespeare

theater and president of the european court of justice and the european court of human rights. we've had only two who have been repeat lunch guests and those and tim greenspan to head of the world -- who is head of the world bank. they have an uncanny ability to eat lunch and speak at the same time. [laughter] >> that stopped since i got there. >> we should start it up again. >> i was not a part of that tradition that i do know that the justices have fascinating guests who joined them. while, we will get a smaller group of justices

together in someone's chambers. i invited you, ruth. me when ainvited judge from south africa has come. there are much smaller lunches of that type that do go on. speaking of lunch, i have been researching the lunch habits of various justices and i find that they fall into two paradigms. like louisy eaters brandeis who brought two pieces of whole wheat red with fresh spinach and on the other can you fitzjohn whoharlan was a lover of french cheese and wine and his wife would send him

french cheese for lunch. justice ginsburg, i will ask you first, where default on that spectrum and how do you sustain yourself in the day? >> perfected secured, i was years i wasor 56 married and my husband was a great cook. he was a big contributor to food to the court and would make cakes for everybody's birthday. and in the days when we did not have outside. for the state of the union, he wives ind with other

making the state of the union dinner for the court. for those of you who don't know, justice ginsburg was lucky enough to be married to martin ginsburg who was a really and professor of tax law in a remarkably talented chef. i would like to get back to the question about what you eat for ?unch justice sotomayor i know you have been open about managing diabetes since her childhood and had has that lady to sustaining yourself? ofi'm assuming that because marvin culinary skills that ruth tends to each relatively late in the -- lately at lunch. tly at lunch and i don't think you vary greatly.

am i wrong, rick? -- ruth? >> no. diedy dinners, my husband in 2010 and my daughter has taken on the responsibility of making sure her mother is properly nourished. [laughter] it is only right. she learned the difference between mom's cooking and daddy's cooking. now she comes once a month and fills the preacher with food -- freezer with food. i bury my lunch -- vary my lunch and a shop for myself every week.

in and havefood it put together so that i can experience something different every day. every once in a while, i will order in. my favorite is a local japanese sushi place and another is a local indian place. most of the time, i eat very healthy. i have a lot of salads and i love salads because you can bury them with ingredients. no two salads that i have are ever identical. i have occasional sandwiches but i also like making sandwiches and interesting ways with healthy ingredients. i will put turkey or tunafish or boiled eggs but then i will put roasted peppers, pickles

sometimes, whatever suits my and --o increase the taste. i.e. do a lot of fruit salads because i can bury those with types of fruits that i eat. me, eating a sacred. you should not waste a meal. [laughter] it can be simple and healthy, but it has to be tasty. >> with respect to food, court habits span a wide range. sonja is very well-prepared. souter,colleague david he will eat one thing only for lunch, plain yogurt. no fruit. just plain yogurt. [laughter] >> i understand that occasionally he had an apple.

[laughter] >> later in the day. core. he ate the [laughter] by the way, justices do have different eating habits. colleagues order from our cafeteria. i daresay, she orders from the cafeteria and has the salad brought up. justices kagan and breyer and thomas will bury their lunches. justice kennedy will bring fruit -- food from home. sometimes i think i should eat dinner with him. becausejustice kennedy both their spouses are wonderful cooks.

some justices like justice stevens, a cheese sandwich on white red with the crust cut off -- bread with the crust cut off virtually every day i sat with him for a year. [laughter] i understand this and read can tell me this, i do not know his wife well, she was a wonderful cook. >> she was a dietitian so she was very healthy. there was a time when he was on a diet and he had grapefruit cut in half and a both halves. >> that was before my time. i would like to get back to martin ginsburg for a little bit. you were talking about the late thatcentury and the role

supreme court wives were expect it to play. your husband played in an orton role internally -- extremely in thent role internally court. lunch sessions are held four times a year and they are like potlucks? two or three of the spouses take the initiative to organize them. my question to you justice ginsburg, do you remember your husband going off to his first spouse luncheon and his impression? he made a popular dish. it is in this book. book, chef supreme, she thought the perfect tribute to him would be to cook look -- the

cookbook are this has about 30 of his well over 150 recipes. the choices were initially made then she looked at them and said mother, those are not the recipes daddy would have picked. then you pick the recipes. in the table of contents is one recipe that says james caesar salad. >> she is as good as her father. i had one meal with her at her home in new york and the food was fantastic. the tribute to martin ginsburg and the cook book by the spouses are wonderful. i would like to read a brief

widow ofho was the william a douglas. >> he arrived dressed elegantly in a sports jacket with a handkerchief in his breast pocket. his smile gives the impression of perpetual amusement. at the yet just heard some witty remark. he was soft spoken. aware that one aspect of the spouses job is to find in an institution defined by differences. he seemed eager to do his part. we departed our luncheon -- l dealing withches filled -- feeling fulfilled with one another. i think john marshall would have enjoyed martin ginsburg. the question, did he just love to share good food or did you think he was aware of it's important service you is doing

-- he was doing to the court? >> i think both. his fondness for the kitchen shortly after i made my first meal. [laughter] to two he owed his skill women, his mother and wife. had i think he was spared to his mother but entirely accurate with me. he began cooking when he was in service. did -- iback -- dr. came back to give birth to jane.

on page one, the basic stuff. he had been a chemistry major at so he treated this cookbook like it chemistry book. after two years in the service, he was already quite a good cook. >> he was a fabulous baker and made wonderful bread. he said there was not a decent loaf of bread in washington dc so he made his own bread. sotomayor, let's talk about your food traditions. growing up, and your autobiography, you read that she cooked rice and brings -- be ans. did you learn to cook this type

of food? >> i'm not a bad cook, but i'm a horrible cook a puerto rican. . , because i have tasted the best for my mother and grandmother and uncles and father. i can't duplicate anything they make so i have really lost heart and don't try. i'm not trying to figure out how leta.ke my mother's chu every time i visit her, she still make them for me. i watched and they are never the same. for years i thought it have to do with the pan she was using. they have to have been seasoned and a particular way. pants taken three of her over time -- pans over time and every once in a while we're cooking with a new pan and say,

i wonder what happened to the last one? it disappeared shortly after the last visit. [laughter] but it is not that. she is a traditional cook which to me is someone who does not cook with recipes and every meal , butooks tastes the same is better because of something has changed and improved. i don't think i could ever duplicate her but i do cook a lot of other things. we are on the dot of time. i just wanted to get one last topic in and that is other traditions of the court involving food. since the 19th century, there have been welcome and farewell dinners for justices. justice ginsburg, do you remember you're welcome dinner in 1993? justices made for me by

o'connor and thanks to kathy fitts, i have that many of somewhere here. where did that dinner go? one i did nothe forget to put part of the ingredients in the e-mail. [laughter] andt was red leaf lettuce grilled artichoke and then you had put some other stuff that i don't remember. some redline -- red wine. both the name of the group, the entertainers? >> metronomes. >> we have not been successful in locating the group.

justice breyer's wife is the daughter of a wealthy englishman and i asked catherine, who ran the interactive theater, to take some of it, the gilbert and sullivan songs and make up for justice breyer and his wife. thebest party we had was one when justice o'connor tired -- retired priest insisted she did not to have a party. so we came up with an idea that he thought she could not resist. she could take any movie she would like to see and we would watch it and then we would have an appropriate dinner to go with the movie.

the movie was red river with john wayne. it has every politically incorrect thing in it. [laughter] sexist, racist. [laughter] popcorn. eating area and had southwestern there. our tradition on the court is justice will come the next and coming justice by arranging a welcoming dinner. mine was arranged by sam alito. classical tarpley plain spanish music -- guitar

player playing spanish music without that was beautiful and entertaining. kaganxt year when elena came on board, i decided to call up one of her friends from harvard and ask them what they thought was her paper. -- favorite food and the front reported that her favorite food -- friend reported that her favorite food was chinese. that justicem is did not eat chinese food so i had to devise a many that would satisfy him but also satisfy her so i worked very diligently with a caterer to come up with an asian flavored meal that would like. like -- during the dinner at some point i explained to justice kagan what i had done and she said,

who told you i like chinese? i told her the name of the person and she turned to me and said i'm grateful for your thoughtfulness, but it won't mention the present name, but that person likes chinese. [laughter] rate, i still think she enjoyed the dinner and there is a momento given, at least in the tradition i've been a part of, at the end of the dinner, cheesecake presented. at my, justice alito made me a bottle of wine with a picture of the supreme court with my name and date. justice kagan, i presented her with a chocolate gavel. i don't know how many of you remember this, but during her confirmation hearing, there was a picture of her in high school

in a robe with an oversized gavel in her hand. in my welcoming remarks, i indicated that i thought that chocolate gavel was now well deserved. at any rate, the dinners are fun . a lot of the retired justices, not all of them, sometimes return and occasionally the spouses of deceased justices also come. mention in the started having music sometime in the 1980's. it was begun by justice blackmun and when he retired, justice o'connor took it on for 4-5 years and i have been doing it in the years since. artist performed until

3:00 in the afternoon, special friends of the artist and special friends of the court have dinner together with the justices in the dining room. we have had some outstanding guests and that dining room -- in that dining room. marsalis andton others. time for one more question. i would like to ask each of you if you had the opportunity to have a long leisurely lunch with two supreme court justices no longer living, who would you choose? us would sayth of the great chief justice john

marshall made the court the institution. i was so taken with the biography of marshall. in college i had suffered beverages that were not interesting, but the man comes another possibility would justice john marshall hollen. the name their child after the great chief justice. a man who grew up in kentucky on the plantation with

became, besten he known for his dissent in plessy versus ferguson. the separate but equal doctrine. 1885, thet, in so-called civil rights cases, he dissented when the court struck down a major piece of reconstruction legislation for public accommodations. without regard to race access to places of public accommodation. he wrote a fine dissent like they did dissent in plessy versus ferguson.

i would also like to have lunch with the dissenter in the drug scott case -- dred scott case. i mentioned john marshall and i think justice ginsburg has explained, and i think everyone importance,storical but i started to think what are the important ingredients of eating for me -- and the first is good conversation and john marshall fills the bill. second, the food. i would have wanted to have harlan with his platter of eeses because-- ch i love good food. storytelling and thurgood marshall, i understand was a justice on the court over

told you so i've have been told by some of my colleagues that he has never told a story twice. i would have loved to have been in conversation with him and to hear some of his stories. that would be the perfect dinner table for me. >> the one justice, as much as i admire him, i would not want him as my dinner partner and that the justice brandeis. one of his friends reported that if you are invited to dinner at his home, uep for and after -- you would eat before and after. [laughter] >> i second that. itwe have covered and watch tonight. before i close, i want to ask

the panelists, is there anything else you would like to bring up that we have not talk about -- talked about? >> what did we forget? >> i would have to look at my notes. [laughter] we should give claire a round of applause. [applause] >> if any of you know of any recipes are anecdotes about supreme court justices, please get in touch with me because i am writing a cookbook and i would also send a plea to all of foodo go to supreme court website with coverage of this -- the margin ginsburg

margin ginsburg cookbook and justice sotomayor splendid biography. we have copies of that on the and we have some nice things in the hall. now join me and thinking are distinguished panelists. [applause] thank you all for coming and please remain seated until the panelists leave the stage. [applause]

[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] friday march the 40 anniversary of the museum american history tv live coverage starts at 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span3. we will tour the museum and save one-of-a-kind aviation and space artifacts. plus live events of the front of the building. learn more about the museum as we talk with the director. the museum curator and chair of the museum's space history

department. you can join the conversation as we take your calls come in as and tweets. the ported anniversary of the smithsonian national air and space museum. be --an history to history tv. monday on the communicators. talks about cyber and data security and federal government agencies in the report card the subcommittee released in may on agency management. he is joined by politico cyber security reporter. >> the federal government has almost 11,000 datacenter. facebook has four. there is reason the federal government should have 11 thousand. realized $2 have billion worth of savings over the last years by moving into the cloud.

atwatch this on monday night 8:00 eastern on c-span2. this weekend on the presidency, understanding ronald reagan. james rosebush, former deputy assistant talks about the 40th president personal life and potential life. -- president-elect. >> i was with him when i was going into surgery and we did not know going into that hospital, we thought it would be a hot -- outpatient. any case, we decided to stay the night to the president asked me what i go back to the white house and get a change of clothes so when he came back, the next day, he could have a different outfit. i said, yes. i would be happy to do anything that the president asked me to do so iran out and got in one of shose small chrysler sedan

that was part of the white house motor pool and rate back -- raced back and i went to his closet. i had never been in his closet. bedroom, which you know by the way, inside had wallpaper andird the president used to say he would sit in bed with a slingshot and try to hit the birds on the wall. that is pure reagan. it was also pure nancy reagan to have the birds painted on the wall. , veryo the closet different than her closet, which is several rooms full of beautiful clothes. backase, i drew the doors on the closet and i stand there and think, i have to figure out

something to take for him to me, this isjust hit midwesternmple taste. not at all the way he was being portrayed in the media as a rich person's president. as a spendthrift. see in everyone could this man's closet. it was not about close, it was about what it stood for. the image and seeing that there is one black suit and one blue suit and one brown pair of shoes . one brown belt, one blackbaud. i stood there and i thought, here's a president who has no vanity, no sense of person, he neverery impersonal, he sought accolades, had no enemies. have any acute sense of anger or need to prove himself. the kind of person you would

like to be, but can't ever imagine achieving. at least that is the way i thought of him. >> watch the entire program on sunday at 8:00 p.m. on the presidency only on american history tv on c-span3. with the political primary season over, c-span threat to the white house takes you to the summers political convention. watch the republican national convention starting on july 18 with live coverage from cleveland. go into the convention no matter what happens and i think we are going to go in so strong. >> and watch the democratic national convention starting july 25 with live coverage from philadelphia. >> let's go forward and when the national election. take our fight , andocial economic

environmental justice to philadelphia. >> every minute of the republican and democratic party convention on c-span, c-span radio and c-span.org. each week, american artifact takes viewers into archives and museums and historic sites around the country. smithsonianit the national air and space museum located on the national mall. our tour guide is valerie neal. head of the space history department. usows is artifacts -- artifacts from the moon to mars. >> i valerie neal. we are at the center of the museum. -- hallthe horrible where we display the pioneering