When became citizens, we took an oath to support and defend the Constitution and laws and bear faith and allegiance to the same. When I became a judge last year, I took the very same oath administered by Justice O'Conner. Rather amazingly, I'm now in the position to administer that oath to others who themselves are becoming citizens.

The Office of the Solicitor General has a deeply ingrained fundamental institutional culture that has stood the test of time for decades. I went because I wanted to do public service and do an appellate practice at the very highest levels I could.

It was an interesting experience to work alongside the solicitor general's team and then turn around and argue against them. You certainly grow as a lawyer from getting such a varied set of experiences.

If we lived in a world where we had the rule of a judge, rather than the rule of law, you would have seen an absolute sea change, an avulsive change in the law as it was interpreted, applied and rendered by our court.