This past fall semester, Catholic Law students got the unique opportunity to attend lectures on various aspects of Supreme Court history by nationally regarded historians and law professors. They heard these lectures not in their typical classrooms in the law school, but in the courtroom of the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Supreme Court Historical Society put on two in-person lectures this fall. Professor Derek Webb, a new member of the Board of Trustees of the Supreme Court Historical Society who had been elected to that position this past spring, served as their host for the evening.

On September 25, 2025, Gerald Magliocca, an acclaimed legal historian at Indiana University McKinley School of Law, presented from his new book Washington’s Heir: The Life of Justice Bushrod Washington. The book was the recipient of the Society’s prestigious Erwin N. Griswold Prize, an award given out occasionally for excellence in works on Supreme Court history.

And on November 19, 2025, just days after the federal government had reopened following the shutdown, the writer Sean Meehan was at the Supreme Court to discuss his new book The Emerald Bench: The History of the Irish American Justices on the Supreme Court.

Students raved about their experience attending these lectures in person at the Court. “I had a great time,” Molly Ayers, a 1L, said. “It’s very interesting to hear about the Supreme Court from different historical perspectives.” Sarah Keagy, another 1L, had a similar experience. “Attending lectures at the Supreme Court Historical Society was genuinely awe-inspiring.” And she added that “Being in the Supreme Court surrounded by its history and hearing from such engaging and interesting speakers made the law feel real to me and reinforced that choosing to study law in Washington, D.C. was the best decision.”

Jessica Boback, a 1L in the evening program at Catholic Law, said that attending the Meehan lecture on the Irish American experience at the Supreme Court “was particularly meaningful for me, given my own heritage.” Nina Tum, 1L, who also attended the lecture on Irish Americans on the Court, observed that “The lecture and atmosphere were fantastic overall. It was particularly special to learn about different success stories of people in the legal field achieving the American dream.” And Odettia Brantley, another 1L in the evening program, echoed this sentiment: “the experience was deeply inspiring. As a Jamaican immigrant, I felt a strong connection to the stories of Irish immigrants and to the dedication, service, and resilience of both past and present Supreme Court justices.”

Following the lectures there was a reception in the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court where the students got the chance to meet with various lawyers in the area and have some light food and drinks. Boback said that attending the Meehan lecture “paired with the opportunity to meet Justice Hogan of the Supreme Court of Ireland truly made this a once in a lifetime occasion.” Ayers said that “My favorite part was the reception afterwards, where I was able to meet people in the legal field outside of a school or job search setting. The food was also incredible!”