Washington’s legal community recovers from literal shakeup
If asked where they were when the earthquake of August 2011 hit, Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan will have the same answer: “I was at the Court!”
The justices were not harmed, and the building was not evacuated as many other Washington buildings were, Bloomberg reports, although no one else was allowed enter the Supreme Court building following the quake. Damage to the Court’s building was minor, according to the Detroit Free Press and other reports, and included fallen plaster in the gym located on the top floor, and small shards of marble near elevators on the first floor.
Other federal courts in Washington also closed after the tremor, and most office buildings in the downtown area were evacuated, sending occupants – including lawyers at most law firms – into the streets to wait for long periods of time before making the very slow trek home via packed highways and slowed public rail systems.
Today, Washington’s courts and offices are reopening as normal. Back to work, everyone!
