A new study that's making waves in the legal community has found that female US Supreme Court justices are three times more likely to be interrupted than their male counterparts. Who's doing the interrupting? Yep, usually their male counterparts. But sometimes attorneys arguing before the Court are interrupting them.
Both of these facts are remarkable. The first is remarkable because it indicates that even at the highest levels of power, women aren't treated with the respect accorded men.
The second is remarkable because a guide for attorneys arguing before the Court advises them not to interrupt a justice. It's not a hard and fast rule per se, but it is a rule of decorum. And decorum is pretty important to the Supremes. So who's in charge of enforcing the rules--of decorum and otherwise--at the Supreme Court?
Chief Justice Roberts. Mister Chief Justice Roberts.
Notably, Mister Chief Justice Roberts is also the second most likely of the currently sitting justices to interrupt his female colleagues. (No stats on J. Gorsuch yet.)
Well, if that don't get your panties in a bunch, your panties don't bunch as easily as mine do.
You can read a more detailed analysis of the study--with a link to the 73-page law review article that started it all--here.
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