‘Long Conference’ Pared Down

WASHINGTON — In decades past, the Supreme Court met through the last week of September for what was known as the “long conference.” The nine justices gathered to sift through the 1,700 or so appeals that had arrived over the summer and voted on which ones to review.

Since Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist took over, however, the conference lasts but a few hours on a Monday morning. He insists that his colleagues come prepared and ready to vote in rapid succession, with a minimum of discussion.

By Tuesday, Rehnquist and Justice Stephen G. Breyer had headed out with a delegation of U.S. judges to meet with some of their Mexican counterparts in the city of Guanajuarto. Two years ago, members of the Mexican Supreme Court had visited Washington and invited Rehnquist and his colleagues to come to Mexico for a return visit.

Court officials had little information on this year’s gathering except to say that the judges will talk about “topics of mutual concern.” Breyer may arrive a bit weary. In mid-September, he and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor had traveled to India to meet with judges there but were stranded for a time after the Sept. 11 attacks shut down the airline industry.