Getting a Front-Row Seat for the AT&T Ruling Costs Up to $860

Ever since the judge presiding over the AT&T Inc.-Time Warner Inc. merger case said he’d take the unusual step of reading his ruling aloud from the bench on June 12, investors, lawyers and journalists have eagerly anticipated this day. Seats in Judge Richard Leon’s courtroom are in such demand that lines began forming outside the E. Barrett Prettyman courthouse in downtown Washington a full day before the scheduled 4 p.m. announcement.

With less than five hours to go before the hearing begins, the line had moved inside the courthouse and snaked down the 6th floor hallway, complete with folding chairs. Peppered among the people eager to snare a seat were so-called line sitters, who are paid to hold spots -- a practice common in Washington, and one that was used during the trial for big witnesses. The going rate is $36 an hour, meaning a front-row seat could run about $860.