The West Wing (TV Series)

The Supremes (2004)

William Fichtner: Justice Christopher Mulready

Photos 

Quotes 

• Justice Christopher Mulready : So why a racial preference and not an economic one?

  Charlie Young : Because affirmative action is about a legacy of racial oppression.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : It's about compromising admission standards.

  Charlie Young : That's bull. Excuse me. It's about leveling the playing field after 300 years...

  Justice Christopher Mulready : See, this is where the liberal argument goes off the tracks. You get stuck in the past. Now, you want to come back at me with "Grading is based on past performance, but admissions should be based on potential, on how a candidate may thrive with this sort of opportunity, and studies show that affirmative action admits have a higher predisposition to contribute to society"

  Charlie Young : Hang on, I've gotta write this down.

• Chief Justice Evelyn Baker Lang : [has just walked in on Toby meeting with Judge Mulready]  Well this is a sight to see. One of the more unlikely meetings in the history of the Bartlett White House.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : [stands up to shake her hand]  It's good to see you, Evie.

  Chief Justice Evelyn Baker Lang : You too, Chris. I came to say goodbye, I wish I had a camera.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : Mr. Zeigler was trying to convince me the Defense of Marriage act is unconstitutional.

  Chief Justice Evelyn Baker Lang : [chuckling]  Oh, DOMA? He was trying to convince you?

  Toby Ziegler : What?

  Chief Justice Evelyn Baker Lang : He doesn't need convincing.

  Toby Ziegler : Well I wasn't doing a particularly...

  Chief Justice Evelyn Baker Lang : He's yanking your chain. He would never uphold DOMA. He might not love the idea of gay marriage, but he hates congressional overreaching, and Congress doesn't have the power to legislate marriage. The issue isn't privacy.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : Or equal protection.

  Chief Justice Evelyn Baker Lang : It's enumerated powers. He'll have an easier time knocking down DOMA than I will.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : Lack of imagination on your part, if I may be so bold.

• President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet : Thanks for coming in.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : It's an honor, Sir.

  President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet : [gesturing for Mulready to have a seat]  Please. I understand you and Judge Lang had a bit of a knock down, drag out.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : She wants to federalize law enforcement. I thought it was hasty.

  President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet : Not your brand of judge.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : Quite the opposite. I have not had that much fun in months.

  President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet : [surprised]  Really?

  Justice Christopher Mulready : Use her if you can. I'm not sure what all this is about. I suppose a number of people are placated by a glimpse of someone like her, or someone like me in these halls. I'm most certainly here for that. But if there is any way that you can use her...

  President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet : It's unlikely.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : Who's at the top of the list?

  [sees Bartlets hesitation] 

  Justice Christopher Mulready : If I leaked it, would they believe me?

  President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet : Brad Shelton.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : [hesitant]  Really.

  President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet : You don't like him?

  Justice Christopher Mulready : He's a fine jurist. And in the event that Carmine, Lafayette, Hoyt, Clark, and Brannagan all dropped dead, the middle would still be well tended.

  President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet : [Chuckling]  You want another Brady.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : Sure. Just like you'd like another Ashland, who wouldn't? The court was at it's best when Brady was fighting Ashland.

  President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet : Plenty of good law written by the voices of moderation.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : Who writes the extraordinary dissent? The one man minority decision whose time hasn't come but 20 years later, some circuit court clerk digs it up at 3 in the morning. Brennan rallying against censorship, Harlans jeremiad on Jim Crow.

  President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet : [half serious]  Maybe you someday.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : [mildly dismissive]  Hm. They can't put me on The Court. Just like you can't put Evelyn Lang on The Court. It's Sheltons from here on in.

  President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet : There are 4000 protesters outside this building, worried about who is going to land in that seat. We can't afford to alienate all of them.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : We all have our roles to play, Sir. Yours is to nominate someone who doesn't alienate people.

  President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet : [convinced] 

• Toby Ziegler : You were yanking my chain?

  Justice Christopher Mulready : You call me for a meeting with a democratic President in the middle of the night, are you really going to give me crap about yanking your chain?

• Chief Justice Evelyn Baker Lang : I am not... No I am not rewriting Article I. I am saying that a gun free school zone...

  Justice Christopher Mulready : [Cutting her off]  Is not a federal issue. In Lopez

  Chief Justice Evelyn Baker Lang : [Cutting him off]  Lopez overturned 50 years of precedent.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : No, it stated that a plain text reading of the Commerce Clause does not allow Congress to

  Chief Justice Evelyn Baker Lang : [Cutting him off again]  A plain text reading of the Constitution values a negro at 3/5 of a man.

  Justice Christopher Mulready : Hence the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.

  Chief Justice Evelyn Baker Lang : Oh, how generous. Thank you

• Justice Christopher Mulready : So, why a racial preference and not an economic one?

  Charlie Young : Because affirmative action's about a legacy of racial oppression...

  Justice Christopher Mulready : It's about compromising admission standards.

  Charlie Young : That's bull... excuse me. It's about levelling the plainfield after three hundred years of...

  Justice Christopher Mulready : See, this is where the liberal argument goes off the rails. You get stuck in the past. Now, you want to come back at me with: grading is based on past performance, but admission should be based on potential, on how a candidate may thrive with this sort of opportunity. And studies shows that affirmative actions have a higher predisposition to contribute to society.

  Charlie Young : Hang on, I gotta write this down.