Rag and Bone

THE WALLS OF THE COURTROOM OF THE COURT OF APPEAL on the third floor in the Ronald Reagan State Office Building were paneled in gray-green marble the color of money while the justices' dais and the benches in the gallery were gleaming wood that had been stained the deep, coagulated red called oxblood; the same red as the tasseled loafers of the big-firm lawyers who regularly practiced in this venue.