- Posted December 12, 2011
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Justice Potter Stewart's estate sale draws curious, collectors, Court junkies
By Kimberly Atkins
The Daily Record Newswire
Some arrived before dawn to wait in line for more than six hours - just for a chance to look at a celebrity's stuff.
But the celebrity in question wasn't Justice Bieber or Lady Gaga. He was a Supreme Court justice.
This past weekend an estate sale at the Northwest Washington home of the late Justice Potter Stewart - who famously defined pornography by observing: "I know it when I see it" - drew attorneys, antique collectors, family friends and law students seeking to catch a glimpse of - and maybe walk away with - some of the Stewart's trinkets and treasures.
According to the Washington Post, Stewart's widow, Mary Ann, moved to New Hampshire several years ago, and the family decided to sell their house in Washington.
From the copy of "War and Peace" signed by the justice, to a squash ball he once batted around a court, to photographs of the justice with his family, former president Ronald Reagan, former president George H.W. Bush and even actor Rock Hudson, shoppers and gawkers had plenty to take in.
Adam Fernandez, a 29-year-old law student, hoped that some of Stewart's legacy would rub off on his own career - with the help of the leather briefcase he scored at the sale.
"I'm in my third year, and I'm going to be a real lawyer soon, and I think I'll be using this briefcase," he told the Post.
Published: Mon, Dec 12, 2011
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