Upwards of 200 people showed up at the United States Courthouse in downtown Providence Tuesday morning, where Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts commemorated the building's centennial anniversary. The guests inside Courtroom 1 were honoring the courthouse's storied legacy; those outside were protesting what they felt saw as Roberts' conservative political agenda. Roberts' speech was met with applause and laughter inside the courthouse, but was marred by the constant static of shouting and chanting from Kennedy Plaza.
Roberts was the main attraction of the opening ceremony of the United States Courthouse Centennial Celebration. He is the first sitting Chief Justice to come to Rhode Island on official business in more than 200 years - and the first who didn't arrive on horseback, joked Bruce Selya, senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals.
Also in attendance were Gov. Donald Carcieri '65 and Mayor David Cicilline '83. Other speakers included architect Maurice Finegold and Master of Ceremonies and Chief Judge Mary Lisi.
The five-story granite courthouse, which a century ago also served as post office and customs house, was honored both for its architectural and historical significance as a Providence landmark. The dark gray building, located on the east side of Kennedy Plaza across from City Hall, features arched doorways and columns typical of the beaux-arts architectural style.
Roberts spoke of the Courthouse's place in the state's legal history and its significance as a city landmark but mostly focused on President Abraham Lincoln, whose 199th birthday was on Tuesday. Roberts, who reminded the audience that Lincoln carried Rhode Island in both his presidential runs, traced the roots of the 16th president's legal career. Lincoln "developed an interest in the law at a small, local courthouse in Booneville, Indiana," Roberts said, adding, "This is a much grander courthouse - and it truly is a grand building, now 100 years old."
Throughout the ceremony and during Roberts' speech, protests could be heard from outside the building. Protesters from various groups, including the Spring Mobilization Committee to End War and Occupation, the "Raging Grannies" and Brown's anti-war group, Operation Iraqi Freedom, hold Roberts partially accountable for what they say is the unjust treatment of detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Providence resident Shane Jones, who was protesting as a member of the Spring Mobilization Committee to End War and Occupation and the International Socialist Organization, handed out flyers detailing Roberts' culpability in perpetuating the "War on Terror" and in "curtailing civil rights." Jones was unconcerned with honoring the courthouse, calling it "a big gallows."
Chris Murphy, a member of the International Socialist Organization, said Roberts is "not just interpreting law - he's making law," adding that "the people of Rhode Island want Guantanamo shut down."
Mark Morales '10, who led Brown's Operation Iraqi Freedom group into Kennedy Plaza and nearby Burnside Park from 10:30 a.m. to noon, said the protest comprised about 70 people at its peak. Morales said Roberts is complicit in the torture of Guantanamo detainees because he ruled in favor of the federal government in the 2005 case Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. According to Jones, this ruling would have allowed the government to declare any citizen an enemy combatant and impinged upon American civil liberties. The Supreme Court reversed the decision in 2006.
Roberts closed his speech by returning to Abraham Lincoln, saying "I am confident that if judges and lawyers follow his example, those who stand on the steps of this courthouse 100 years from now will also have much to celebrate."
The protesters standing on the steps of the courthouse Tuesday were successful at least in garnering attention, though it is unclear whether they got their message across to Roberts. Roberts joked about the protesters' charges, saying "this is a group of people who prefer the Classical Revival style to the Beaux-Arts style."
After the ceremony, the street outside of the courthouse was still peppered with protesters, some clad in orange prison-suits. Morales, who said he was "pretty satisfied" with the protest, was not concerned that Roberts ignored the specifics of the protest. "He can try to write off what the majority of Americans feel, and it doesn't change the fact that this is a democracy and we have the right to express our opinions."
