“What fascinating issues!” Friedman declared wryly as Howell remained stone-faced on the dais. “We’d all love to read her opinions, but we can’t,” he said to laughter.
Friedman did note, however, that Howell had issued 100 secret grand jury opinions during her seven-year term.
Another colleague, Judge Tanya Chutkan, also alluded to Howell’s work resolving disputes related to the court’s grand juries over the past seven years.
“There’s so much work Chief Judge Howell has done that we may never know about,” Chutkan said.
Another tribute to Howell came from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who served on the district court in D.C. before being elevated to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and then the Supreme Court. Jackson said Howell has been vital to keeping the critical district court in the Capital operating through a series of major challenges.
“She’s like that steel beam in a construction project that holds everything else up,” Jackson said.
Howell…
This article was written by By Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney and originally published on www.politico.com