Evelyn Baker Lang

Evelyn Baker Lang
Position	Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Period	2004 - Present
Successor	incumbent

Evelyn Baker Lang is an American jurist and the current Chief Justice of the United States.

She was played by Glenn Close (and Ann Ryerson in the series finale).

Professional Life

Lang was the first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Seen as an extremely liberal judge, she was a non-contender for the appointment upon the death of a conservative Justice. However, she so impressed Josh Lyman and Toby Ziegler during her interview (which she correctly divined was merely a smoke-screen to scare the Republican-controlled Senate into confirming a less liberal nominee) that they fought for her to be placed on the short list. When Donna Moss told Josh that when her parents couldn't decide on what sort of cat to get, they got two, he saw an opportunity, and convinced Chief Justice Roy Ashland, a liberal, to resign as well. Lang was then nominated and confirmed as Chief Justice, while Christopher Mulready, a conservative, was nominated and confirmed concurrently, "balancing" the court. However, in a brief scene where the two discussed gay marriage, Lang and Mulready proved they were not perfectly situated along the liberal-conservative axis.

On January 20, 2007, Chief Justice Lang administered the oath of office to President Matthew Santos.

Personal Life

Lang had an abortion while in law school, which briefly threatened her nomination until President Bartlet pointed out that it was legal ("post-Roe," as C.J. Cregg put it), and that he would not hold it against her.

Quotes

"If you're Malkin, you're from Virginia, so you ask In re: Drury. I take you point by point from the doctor to the father to Casey to undue burden to equal protection back to Roe, at which point you can't remember the question and I drink my water for a minute while you regroup."

References

PREDECESSOR Roy Ashland

Chief Justice 2004-present

SUCCESSOR Incumbent