In 2026, the fastest news delivery system in Washington still looks like a sweaty intern in sneakers.
After the Supreme Court handed down a series of landmark decisions on June 30, including a landmark decision on birthright citizenship and decisions on transgender athletes and campaign finance restrictions, interns were once again seen sprinting out of the courtroom with printed opinions in hand.
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The footage quickly turned into its own internet event. Partly because the visuals were so appealing, and partly because everyone asked the same question: what is this tradition and why is it still going on?
Introducing one of Washington’s weirdest and most beloved rituals: kicking out the interns.
This tradition has existed in one form or another for decades, dating back to the days when Supreme Court reports were printed. Because recording devices are prohibited inside the courtroom, hand-delivered briefs used to be the quickest way for news organizations to convey important decisions from the court to reporters outside.
That job often fell to interns at CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS and other news organizations covering the courtroom. They waited for printed opinions in or near the building, grabbed copies as soon as they were available, and raced them to producers and correspondents stationed outside so the networks could report their decisions as quickly as possible.
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The “intern’s flight” became a familiar sight in the Washington media during the 2000 Bush v. Gore case, when television networks raced to cover the decision that effectively decided the presidential election. In the years that followed, the interns continued to run through key decision dates, including the 2012 Affordable Care Act ruling and the 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, which popularized the tradition.
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The routine is simple. Interns wait for printed opinions, pick up documents, and race across the courthouse square to producers and correspondents preparing to broadcast live. It’s breaking news, relay races, and free cardio.
This tradition was born in a highly digital age where the Supreme Court posts its opinions online, often making PDFs available immediately after the decision. So the birthright citizenship rules were posted online by SCOTUS the moment they were announced.
Moreover, during the pandemic (from March 2020 to June 2022), the court actually issued opinions only online. Once that became the norm, the old newspaper broadcast began to feel more like a relic from another media era than a necessity for breaking news.
After this change, the concept was declared dead. But the ritual clearly still has legs (pun intended), and the “run” is back, both IRL and online.
Online, many people have praised the tradition and the hard work of the interns, with some crying. Some people find it absurd and intense. Some people tagged sneaker brands and begged them to use the scene as an ad.
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In a world where every important verdict instantly becomes a PDF, push notification, live blog, or social post, there’s something refreshing about seeing a young man zipping around town in business casual attire, driven by a pure love of breaking news.
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