Supreme Court arguments
 

We're going to be in D.C. this weekend and are hoping to watch oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Monday. I know they have arguments at 10 a.m. (what appears to be a Medicaid-related case) and 11 a.m., and I'm familiar with the two lines. But does anyone have an idea of how early you need to be there to have a good chance at getting a seat? We'd like to try to get in the line for attending the entire argument at 10 a.m.

It's not a sexy case, so your chances are better. They start seating at 9:30 for the full argument, so I would guess 8:30 if its a reasonably nice day, later (9ish) if it's cold.

I once lined up two hours early for case and couldn't get in. Agree with Mike that the newsworthiness of the case involved makes a difference. Dress warmly - it gets COLD standing out there! (and we joked that we could have made a fortune if we brought coffee to sell to other people standing in line).

I do hope you can get in! I was lucky enough to be there for the argument of a major case, and it was one of the high points of my life.

Dress up! No jeans allowed and if you are there for one of the extremely boring cases, don't fall asleep! The bailiffs will wake you up.

Seeing the Supreme Court in action is an amazing thing. I get to go five or six times a year for my job and I'm awed everytime.