And then there is the judge who will decide the case, who it turns out has a Harvard connection of her own.

Judge Allison D. Burroughs, the daughter of a Harvard graduate, sought to be a Harvard graduate herself, but did not get in.

Her rejection suddenly became an issue in the trial on Monday, when someone going by the name “Veritas in Diversitas” sent a mass email to the reporters covering the trial suggesting that Judge Burroughs was biased against Harvard because the college had not accepted her.

“Federal Judge Hides Her Own Painful History of Harvard Rejection,” was the title of the email.

[Emerging in the federal trial over Harvard’s admissions practices: insights into how to get in.]

As soon as the court opened for business Monday morning, Judge Burroughs summoned the lawyers to the front of the room for a whispered sidebar on “an email that you all had shared.” The sidebar was off the record, but there was considerable debate, along with a few chuckles.