All Intensive Purposes

Thurgood Marshall declined to attend the Supreme Court's annual Christmas party:

[T]he late Chief Justice William Rehnquist almost defiantly insisted on describing the Court's annual holiday gathering as a Christmas party.

In 1988, as revealed by a file in the papers of the late Justice Thurgood Marshall, a group of law clerks petitioned Rehnquist citing their "concern about the Court's celebration of Christmas."

The clerks objected to the Christmas tree itself, as well as the Christmas party where Christmas carols are sung. Noting that "some of us do not object at all to these observances," the clerks said that "all of us are concerned that members of the public, as well as Court employees, may be offended by them." The clerks requested a meeting with Rehnquist to discuss the matter.

Marshall's papers indicated no reply from Rehnquist, but the party proceeded as it has every year since. As he apparently did every year, Marshall sent a note to Rehnquist declining the invitation: "As usual, I will not participate. I still prefer to keep church and state apart."

From law.com, which reports that Chief Justice Roberts has continued Rehnquist's tradition.