Elena Kagan Reminisces About Marijuana During Supreme Court Hearing

Elena Kagan smiles after she is sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice. Image by Getty Images

By Aiden Pink October 5, 2017

Supreme Court justices often delve into the weeds of an oral argument, and many are not afraid to be blunt. But a question by Justice Elena Kagan during a case about a house party gone wrong gave new meaning to the term “high court.”

The case centered around a party at a house in Washington, D.C., which was organized by a woman named “Peaches.” The party featured loud music, alcohol, and impromptu lap dances. After neighbors complained to police about the noise, Peaches admitted to the police that she did not own the property, so the police arrested the partygoers and charged them with trespassing.

The people who were arrested sued the DCPD, alleging that the police did not have probable cause to arrest them.

When discussing the intricacies of the case, Kagan referred to her own past experiences, drawing laughter from attendees.

“There are these parties that, once long ago, I used to be invited to where you didn’t know the host, but you know Joe is having a party,” she said. “And I can say that long, long ago, marijuana was maybe present at those parties?”

She added that “It just is not obvious that the reasonable partygoer is supposed to walk into this apartment and say: Got to get out of here [because they may unknowingly be trespassing]. And — and it seems a little bit hard that they’re subject to arrest.”

The case is District of Columbia v. Wesby.

Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink

Aiden Pink is the Deputy News Editor for the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink.

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