Dahlia Lithwick, Slate.com senior editor and U.S. Supreme Court correspondent, will be giving this year's Bownes Forum address at Franklin Pierce Law Center on Thursday, November 15.

The correct pronunciation of her name was a great mystery among the Pierce Law community until recently, with intense speculation about the possibility that the "w" is silent, which may be more common in Canada, where Lithwick was born. Even Professor Megan De Vorsey, the contact person for individuals interested in learning more, was unable to answer questions about the pronunciation of Ms. Lithwick's name. Fortunately, due to Lithwick's participation on National Public Radio's Day to Day, the mystery has been solved. The name is pronounced juts like it looks.

The topic of Lithwick's remarks was never a mystery. She will be speaking about how Supreme Court coverage has changed in the last few years. Lithwick has previously complained about the tediousness of the first Monday (the opening day of the Court's term), and that the "excitement" on first Mondays usually centers around which justice got new glasses, which one asked the first question of the term, or how long it takes Justices Breyer and Thomas to start whispering to each other.

This year, the opening day was more exciting because of revelations made by and about the Justices over the summer, such as Chief Justice John Roberts' seizures, or that Justice David Souter cried about the outcome of Bush v. Gore. Major books published on the Court during the recess were Clarence Thomas's My Grandfather's Son and Jeffrey Toobin's The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court.

However, according to Lithwick, First Monday in 2007 was still marked by oral argument about a case the Supreme Court probably should not have bothered with (Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican party, which the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit decided in a way the justices expressed little disagreement with). It also lacked "Supreme Court Dancers in shiny black leotards with three gold bands around their upper arms", one of the things Lithwick predicted would have made the first Monday exciting in 2002.