A job for life on the United States Supreme Court is “a great gig” – but has its downsides for the new kid on the bench, says Justice Elena Kagan, a newbie for four years now.
“They hazed me, this is true,” Kagan joked Thursday of the eight high court justices with more seniority. Though Kagan, 54, joined the court in 2010, there have been no newer vacancies for President Obama to fill, so she’s been stuck with a nickname she can’t shake.
“Everybody refers to the Junior Justice as ‘The Junior Justice,’ ” Kagan said in a talk at Princeton University, her alma mater, that lifted the curtain on some of the mysterious inner workings of the nation’s highest court.
Laughing, Kagan explained the jobs that come with lack of seniority: head of cafeteria committee and note-taker/door-opener during the Justices-only deliberations.
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