The history of the LASC’s lectern
17 December 2024
Sometimes a visitor to a place sees things that its regular inhabitants miss. Like, for instance, the lectern at the Louisiana Supreme Court. Recently a lawyer based in Houston, Raffi Melkonian, argued a case in the LASC, and was impressed by the lectern. He noticed details that LASC regulars probably miss—such as its vintage IBM logo. So he did a little digging, learned of the lectern’s history, and wrote an article about it for the Louisiana Law Library’s newsletter, De Novo: “The Remarkable Space-Age Lectern of the Louisiana Supreme Court.” Raffi learned, among other things, that President Kennedy stood at an identical lectern when he gave his historic “We choose to go to the moon” address. Raffi concludes with a reflection on the history that often surrounds us when we appear in court:
More broadly, it’s a reminder that we should look for the unexpected stories that surround us. Objects like the IBM lectern serve as more than functional aids; they are artifacts, carrying the weight of history into the present. Our profession is rich with such physical connections to the past—from the worn marble steps of historic courthouses to the centuryold oak benches where anxious lawyers have always waited their turn. Even the most mundane objects—a judge's gavel, a witness chair, a court reporter's stenotype machine—each carries its own history of justice being sought and served. The next time I argue a case, I’ll do so with a renewed appreciation for the tools we use to do so.
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