SUPREME COURT NOTEBOOK: From bananas to baby socks, lawyers stick to routines before arguments

By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers at the Supreme Court have some occasionally eccentric rituals. The Biden administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer eats a bunch of bananas. Some advocates rub the feet on John Marshall’s statue a floor below the courtroom. Arguing at the Supreme Court can be intimidating. Lawyers stand at a lectern near the bench and can spend an hour or more answering questions from the nine justices. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar has five or six bananas for breakfast on the mornings she argues before the court. Former Justice Department lawyer Sri Srinivasan carried baby socks belonging to his twin children. The Supreme Court begins its new term on Monday.