Supreme Court justices are people too. And like all good Americans, they love going to the movies. From today’s Reliable Source:

So what if you have 25 cases to wrap up by the end of the month? No reason the whole office can’t bail out a little early one night to catch a movie together!

For the folks on the Supreme Court, a retirement was even more cause for a midweek treat. On Wednesday afternoon, all nine justices — plus recently retired colleague Sandra Day O’Connor and a handful of spouses — sneaked over to the Library of Congress for a private screening of the John Wayne classic “Red River.”

More details and commentary, after the jump.

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• Heard on the Hill: Rep. Kartherine Harris was seen barefoot outside of her house, screaming into her mail slot, “Let me in”. . . Does Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.) support the KKK?. . . “Lots of would-be Cabinet and high-level White House officials in a Gore administration” attended the reception for his film. [Roll Call]
• Washington Whispers: Democrats will scare voters about Republican plans for Social Security. . . Rumsfeld found “United 93″ to be “really tough to watch”. . . Democrats are concerned about a Speaker Pelosi. . . Harry Reid loves his iPod. . . Bill Frist’s wife is releasing a book about fathers and daughters. [USN&WR]
• Inside the Beltway: Dick Cheney: “I will consider a book when that time comes.” [WT]
• Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Clarence Thomas thinks Bush is in “real trouble.” [NYDN]
• Names & Faces: Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks on Bush: “I don’t feel he is owed any respect whatsoever.”. . . Arianna Huffington: “You can smell the fear in Hillary Clinton. What happened to that fearless woman? Everything she does is poll-tested.” [WP]

And we bet that Justice Thomas has a special weakness for streaming video: MORE »

• Washington Whispers: Tony Snow on his new gig: “I’m loving it”. . . Bush wants to eliminate malaria in Africa. . . Clarence Thomas loves being a “techno-geek”. . . Donald Powell, the czar for rebuilding the Gulf Coast, sets an example by staying low-key. . . Barbara Bush’s scrapbooks are curated for her husband’s museum. . . New questions raised about the legitimacy of the Zapruder film. [USN&WR]
• Heard on the Hill: The Radio-Television Correspondents Association is holding a public meeting today in response to the dispute between Sen. Ted Stevens and CNN’s Joe Johns. . . Kerry accidently crashes the birthday party for Republican Rep. Bob Ney’s flack. . . DeLay retains his security detail until June 9th. [Roll Call]
• Inside the Beltway: Scott McClellan will be on “The Tonight Show” tomorrow night. [WT]

This morning the Supreme Court is hearing argument in Beard v. Banks, which presents the following question: “May a prison deny inmates newspapers and magazines as punishment for disciplinary violations?”

We might be wearing pajamas rather than black robes, but the answer to us seems obvious: it depends on the publication being withheld. Denying inmates access to the Washington TImes isn’t punishment, but an act of mercy.

We also expect the answer to vary from justice to justice. Preventing Justice Thomas from reading Hustler would constitute punishment; doing the same for Justice Souter would not. Maybe Souter could be cut off from accessing Details?

(Actually, we take that back. Although there are reasons to suspect that Justice Souter enjoys Details, he doesn’t seem stylish enough to fall within the magazine’s core demographic; maybe he could be denied Runner’s World? Chief Justice Roberts is probably the Details reader on the Court.)

Supreme Court Calendar [WP]

* Reliable Source: Jessica Simpson is visiting Capitol Hill next week. [WP]
* Inside the Beltway: Clarence Thomas invoked no laughter during the last Supreme Court term. [WT]
* Page Six: Blind item: “Which gorgeous, auburn-haired network news reporter was caught in the act with a married assignment editor? Seems they ducked into the office of a reporter they thought was out of town, but the other reporter suddenly opened the door and found her colleague giving the boss oral sex. The official story is they were just ‘talking.’”. . . Tomorrow night’s Gridiron Club will bridge partisan divide with humor. [NYP]
* Cindy Adams: Barbara Bush’s former press secretary and close friend of Condoleezza Rice, Michael Ovitz, plans to write a book. . . Two endings were made for “Thank You For Smoking.” [NYP]

Yesterday we shared with you several sightings of the Bush twins, in the provocatively titled “Wonk’d: Barbara Bush’s Full-Frontal Body Rub.”

Today we bring you sightings of, well, everyone else. You can check them out — including a sweaty Chuck Schumer (don’t say we didn’t warn you!) — after the jump.

Please continue to send us your sightings, by email, with either “Wonk’d” or “Sighting” in the subject line. Thanks!

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From the AP report on yesterday’s oral argument in the Texas redistricting case: MORE »

Before the U.S. Supreme Court today, in a shocking turn of events, Anna Nicole Smith took the advice of our crazy sister and fired her retained counsel in the middle of oral argument. She then proceeded to argue her own appeal before the justices. MORE »

Who knew that the Supreme Court could inspire such excitement and passion in people? Earlier this morning, a reader begged us: MORE »

Last night, four Supreme Court justices — Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Clarence Thomas and Stephen Breyer, and Justice Samuel Alito, sworn in just a few hours earlier — attended the State of the Union. The SCOTUS at the SOTU always presents tricky issues. The judiciary is the least political of the three branches, so how should its members comport themselves at this most political of events? To clap, or not to clap; that is the question.

But it’s not just about the clapping and the standing; the justices also need to monitor their facial expressions. A reader asked us: “Did you notice Clarence Thomas wince when Bush mentioned wiretapping (9:35ish)? And Roberts smile? In the same shot.”

We didn’t catch this — but it’s not that surprising. The squeaky-clean Chief Justice isn’t afraid of someone eavesdropping on all his calls — he probably tells off telemarketers politely. But Justice Thomas wants some privacy for all those calls to 1-900-BIG-JUGS.

After the jump, additional analysis of reactions from the robed ones.

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