Zany world of the Federalist Society

High Class, Elite, Even Snobs -- BUT NUTTY!

Heather Cox Richardson inspired this post by surprising me with this event, that occurred the just the night before Justice Samuel Alito’s Opinion:

Andy Kroll, Andrea Bernstein, and Ilya Marritz of ProPublica reported that the night before the decision came down, 70 or so partygoers, including two dozen state and federal judges, met to drink champagne and eat fine food at the Maine home of the man who had hatched and then executed a plan to stack the courts with extremist judges: Leonard Leo. It was Leo who had helped pick or confirm all six of the justices who would, the next day, announce to the world they were overturning Roe. 

I am sure the event looked something like this, where Leonard Leo, the somber, dignified-looking man is pictured in the foreground, center:

Leo at a FedSoc event in 2023 (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images): Credits: Balls&Strikes — A Judicial Newsletter

Here is the full article:

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-24-2024?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=20533&post_id=145972279&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=u28ry&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

As is usual, Professor Heather Cox Richardson (History (America circa 1850-1930), Boston College) recounts the events with great accuracy and a historians quick-paced style.

I will not reproduce here what Professor Heather Cox Richardson said, especially since she says it so well.

But the article by Heather Cox Richardson left me wondering . . . what . . . the . . .

Leonard Anthony Leo (born November 1965) is a long-term leader at the Federalist Society and, after long terms as the Society’s Vice President he is now co-chairman with Steven Gow Calabresi, Professor of Law, Northwestern University.

As early as his law school days at Cornell University, Mr. Leo was active in the Federalist Society, and in his early years had been active, through the Society, in undergirding support in the Senate to confirm Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, despite Mr. Thomas’ lack of judicial experience, and despite the sordid mistreatment he inflicted on Ms. Anita Hill, who, despite it all, is strong enough that she has progressed to be Professor at Brandeis University (Heller School for Social Policy and Management) and a leader in civil rights, including women’s rights.

(You’ll notice a trend in my writing: I love people, and I love to flesh out who people are that I research. I also love the comical events in people’s lives).

Jeffrey Toobin estimates that one-third of the Supreme Court Justices today had achieved their current status through considerable help through Mr. Leo — whose talents have brought on one reported campaign about a cool $1.6 Billion to the Society. Apparently, Mr. Leo — though not a professor himself — exhibits such learning as to make him credible to highly oiled donors.

Another personal note about Leonard Leo. Like me, Mr. Leo is a Catholic, but unlike me, hhhmm, hhhmm, well, he complies with the teachings that I grew up with under the Holy Father Pius XII about absolute strictures on artificial birth control. So, while Catholic Armando has two daughters, Catholic Leonard Leo has seven young kids who will no doubt lead the world of Conservative, naye, right-wing influencers in the future, no doubt, like dear old Dad, bring the Federalist Society a Billion here, a Billion there (Everett Dirksen — whom this 76-year-old remembers quite vividly — in the early ‘60s said: “A Billion here, a Billion there, pretty soon you are talking about real money”).

But, wouldn’t you know it, shucks, the Federalist Society looks a gift horse in the mouth.

For, while Leonard Anthony Leo has the ability to court the superwealthy donors — what about YOU Steven Celabresi and Eugene Meyer (Longterm Director of the Federalist Society) ?? — where are YOU in raising money for the Society, eh?! — Celabresi and Meyer take umbrage that Mr. Leo lines his own pockets generously from these donations, and lives rather well in Coastal Maine. (I LOVE New England. If I could only persuade the Love-of-My-Life, Nancy, what I wouldn’t give to live in Coastal Maine . . . excuse the digression) —

In fact, Mr. Leo has a $3.3 million home on Desert Island, near Acadia National Park, in Maine.

But, hey, through Mr. Leo, donors to the Federalist Society include billionaires (in oil and other industries, from Texas and other castles of wealth) — $1.6 Billion from Barre Seid alone; $600 Millions collectively from such donors as Paul Singer, Harlan Crow, and — who knew?! — the Koch Family. Did you see THAT ONE coming?!

Leonard Anthony Leo is a “devout” Catholic, who, to make sure his anti-abortion rhetoric was preached loud enough, well, you see, Mr. Leo bought a church in Coastal Maine.

Can’t be too careful. Best to buy your own church!

You cannot make this up!

Now, this is the first part of the story that really riles me, because, you see, the Jesuits, who promote learning, are my favorite Order.

The parish church that Mr. Leo bought was in Northeast Harbor, Maine, namely, St Ignatius of Loyola Church.

Mr. Leo ostensibly bought the parish church in the exclusive, wealthy community, to preserve a historic landmark. And there is probably something to that.

But there was something way beyond that. You cannot be pure enough, and no way is purer, is it, than to own your own church?!

Now, the good people of Northeast Harbor, Maine are, I am sure, a rather tolerant and good lot. People in most places are.

But to have a right-wing theology pushed down their throat may have been, mind you, one step too far.

So, the good folks in Down-East in these parts began to picket.

The demonstrations began with women’s rights pickets — you know, something like, “Take your laws off of my body!”

But, as Balls&Strikes (a legal blog naming itself for Chief Justice John Roberts’ statement that the Court should just “call balls and strikes”) writes how the demonstrations escalated.

The writer, Susan Rinkunas, states it so well for Balls&Strikes that she is introduced here to speak for herself:

It might shock you to learn that conservative judicial puppetmaster Leonard Leo, a man who loves free speech rights for corporations, does not universally support the First Amendment. This is the earth-shattering conclusion of comments Leo recently made regarding a protest outside one of his several lavish homes—a protest that resulted in an arrest, a lawsuit, and, now, a settlement.

Back in July 2022, shortly after Leo’s Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, pro-choice protestors stood on the street outside Leo’s mansion on Mount Desert Island, Maine, to register their dissent. Leo recognized one of the people as a man who had yelled at him from a moving car earlier that day and called the cops. The man, 23-year-old Eli Durand-McDonnell, had called out from the passenger seat, “You’re a fucking fascist.” (His mother, the driver, had also shouted, “‘You’re a fucking asshole, you’re going to hell, your whole family is going to hell,” but that didn’t seem to bother Leo as much.)

After police arrived, Durand-McDonnell was arrested on a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge, handcuffed, and taken to jail. Hancock County District Attorney Robert Granger later dismissed the charges because he had a backlog of “far more serious cases” to focus on. Durand-McDonnell then filed a lawsuit in federal court that accused two officers of the Mount Desert Police Department of perpetrating a “retaliatory arrest to silence Durand-McDonnell’s free speech,” while acting “at the direct behest of Leo.” 

Well, rather than being a spoil-sport, I won’t reveal the ending, but invite you to read Susan Rinkunas’ good-humored narrative here:

https://ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics/leonard-leo-maine-cops/

And, with me, to explore more of this legal blog here:

https://ballsandstrikes.org/about-balls-and-strikes/

And here:

https://ballsandstrikes.org/

With the observation that one of my chief sources is Richard Hasen, Professor of Law, UCLA LAW, who is a nationally recognized expert on elections law, and I regularly read, which I recommend to you:

https://electionlawblog.org/

Let me close with some of my main sources (outside of Heather Cox Richardson, op. cit.):

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/02/leonard-leo-federalist-society-00094761

https://www.propublica.org/article/we-dont-talk-about-leonard-leo-supreme-court-supermajority

https://jacobin.com/2023/07/leonard-leo-dark-money-abortion-lgbtq-maine-church

https://ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics/leonard-leo-maine-cops/

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