Triumphant Federalist Society Dinner Attracts Four Justices

Four Supreme Court justices joined with members of the conservative Federalist Society attorney networking group to celebrate its fortieth anniversary at the first gala since the overturning of a constitutional right to abortion.

The Federalist Society’s Antonin Scalia Memorial Dinner held Thursday night in Washington’s Union Station attracted a crowd of hundreds, including Justices Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

The gathering was part of the organization’s annual national lawyers convention, the first held since the conclusion of a triumphant term for the Supreme Court’s conservative 6-3 majority, which included landmark rulings on abortion, guns, and environmental regulation.

“After 40 years, our successes have proliferated,” said Leonard Leo, the group’s longtime former executive vice president. Leo was an influential adviser to former President Trump on his three Supreme Court appointments, who were all present at the dinner.

Attendees gave a standing ovation when former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Stephen Markman praised Alito’s June 24 opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson that eliminated the constitutional abortion right.

During his remarks about the organization’s early years, Alito said he “fondly” recalled Federalist Society luncheons at a Chinese restaurant. Alito displayed a fortune cookie he said was from those lunches, which he said foretold that the group would spread across the nation and would continue until its work was no longer needed.

Barrett said Federalist Society members were important mentors in her career and she “benefited immensely” from the group.

The Federalist Society describes itself as a membership organization dedicated to reforming the “orthodox liberal ideology” that dominates law schools and the legal profession. The group’s student division includes more than 10,000 law students at every ABA-accredited law school and a lawyers division with 65,000 legal professionals in chapters in 90 cities, according to its website.