Prof at home in high court

In January, Emory University law professor David Bederman found himself in the U.S. Supreme Court representing an unusual client —- the Iranian Ministry of Defense.

It did not stop him, though, from doing what he has usually done in that court —- win. Bederman, 47, has won four of the past five cases he has argued there. The decision in this case, the Ministry of Defense and Support for the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran vs. Elahi, was handed down in late April.

Said Bederman, whose stance was backed by the U.S. government, “This is a case where I’m not representing a popular client or popular cause, but the issue and principal were still important.”

Bederman, who has been a part of 12 other cases, shared the experience of arguing in the highest court in the land.

It’s supreme, not big

The court is smaller than you’d think. The lectern where lawyers stand is just a few feet from the judges’ bench, a much smaller place than, for instance, the Supreme Court of Georgia or the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Bederman calls it a “very intimate setting.”

Said Bederman: “It’s not a place for bombast. It’s very conversational.”

Pit bull justice

The justices can be unrelenting in their questioning.

Said Bederman: “Many justices are like pit bulls. Once they clamp down on you, they’re not going to let go until they’re satisfied with your answer or they think you’re not going to help them anymore.”

In the first Supreme Court case he argued, “I think Justice (Sandra Day) O’Connor and then Chief Justice (William) Rehnquist hammered me pretty well.”

The clock is ticking

The other difficult part about the questioning is that several justices can be firing off questions at the same time. Lawyers have only 30 minutes to make their case.

“You can be so pushed around by questions, you never really get out the main points you need to,” Bederman said. “It’s about being persuasive at the time you’re answering questions.”

Preparation

It takes him about 100 hours to prepare for a case. “I learned the hard way from the first time I did it, that if you don’t spend that time, the results can be unpleasant,” Bederman said.

High anxiety

No matter how many times Bederman tries cases in the Supreme Court, he’ll never get used to it. He admits being terrified each time he goes to the court.

“It is intimidating,” he said. “It is the highest court in the land. It is the last word that can ever be made on a matter.”