Debra Cassens Weiss of the ABA Journal reports:
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. let students into a little secret when he presided over a moot court hearing yesterday at Columbia Law School: Lawyers in oral arguments are really just a catalyst for a debate among judges.
“You may have thought we were being a little rude in stepping over each other’s questions; let me assure you that is exactly how it looks in the real world,” Roberts said, according to an account of his remarks by the Associated Press. “Because, quite often, the judges are debating among themselves, really, and just using the lawyers as a backboard.”
