Washington DC - December6-9, 2009

Washington DC 2009

I decided to just post an email that I blasted out from DC on the day of the Supreme Court hearing. It gives a good summary of our experience there. Needless to say, it was a once in a lifetime experience!
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Well, we've had quite a day here in DC! It started at 5am eastern time since there are five of us here in one hotel room all sharing one shower! We were told to be to the Supreme Courthouse by 8am, and in hindsight, wish we had been there earlier because Matt, Lindsay, and Marissa weren't able to get into the chambers for the full round of arguments. They were able, however, to go through the chambers on a "tour" and hear about 5 minutes of the oral arguments. So we were all kind of disappointed about that. Pam and I were able to sit in reserved seating. The oral arguments lasted about 75 minutes, and were very intense! I had no idea that the Justices were so combative and interactive with the presenting attorneys! Our attorney, Mike Carvin, was amazing. I felt he handled himself extremely well and presented excellent case points. I also felt that the Justices were much harder on the government's attorneys and their lines of questions about the PCAOB's accountability and oversight by the President.

The legal team is pretty sure that the decision will come down to Justice Kennedy, who is a well-known centrist. There is also some thought that Justice Thomas may vote our way as well. However, we won't be finding out the results until the end of June, at the latest.

When I exited the courthouse, I was asked by Mike Carvin to join him in making a statement to the press at the bottom of the courthouse steps in front of cameras! YIKES!!! (My high school debate skills came in handy!!!) It was very surreal! I was asked several questions about my involvement in the case. I felt the statement went well...but you'll have to ask Pam for an "unbiased" opinion. :) I haven't been able to locate any video of the interview yet, but will let you know when I do.

I was also interviewed last week by NPR, and they aired the segment today. You can hear it by clicking on the following link:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121146830&sc=emaf

We are all enjoying the "DC" experience, and were able to tour the Library of Congress this afternoon. We are also exhausted and jet-lagged, so we are now hanging out in the hotel room and taking it easy. We are doing more touring tomorrow and Wednesday, and return home Wed. night.

Thank you all for your prayers and kind words of support! I couldn't have the self-confidence and motivation to continue being involved in the case without my friends, colleagues, and family!