Tony Mauro

February 20, 2008 | Texas Lawyer

In three key business rulings handed down Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court continued its trend toward freeing companies from the conflicting regulation of 50 different states in favor of one federal regime. The day's decisions made it clear that "we consider it part of our business" to sort out the balance between federal and state law, said Justice Antonin Scalia.

By Tony Mauro

3 minute read

December 28, 2006 | The Legal Intelligencer

At the end of Chief Justice John Roberts Jr.'s first full year as chief justice, his tenure is taking shape, framed by sometimes-conflicting goals of collegiality, continuity and change.

By Tony Mauro ALM

7 minute read

September 07, 2005 | The Recorder

By Tony Mauro

9 minute read

January 29, 2010 | National Law Journal

A new sign emerged Wednesday of how vital a brewing Supreme Court dispute over the privacy of legal work papers may be to law firms. In a rare move, Reed Smith filed a brief on its own behalf, and for two clients, telling the Supreme Court how crucial Textron v. United States is to the relationship between lawyers and their clients. In the Textron case, the 1st Circuit ruled that tax accrual work papers, prepared by lawyers for auditors and others, were not protected by the privilege and should be turned over to the IRS.

By Tony Mauro

3 minute read

October 01, 2005 | The American Lawyer

There is more than one way to build a standout U.S. Supreme Court practice. It can take a village, or a single superstar. Case in point: the two firms that argued the most cases last term.

By Tony Mauro

7 minute read

August 23, 2006 | Law.com

Voicing "grave concern" over increasingly partisan and costly campaigns, the nation's state chief justices are launching a campaign to emphasize the "unique nature" of judicial elections. "It's the money, it's the judicial questionnaires, it's a whole constellation of things happening now that don't advance the public's confidence in the courts," says Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard, outgoing chairman of the Conference of Chief Justices, which voted on the measures early this month.

By Tony Mauro

4 minute read

March 24, 2008 | Texas Lawyer

The U.S. Supreme Court, debating the Texas civil-rights case Rothgery v. Gillespie County, struggled on March 17 to fix the precise moment in a criminal proceeding when a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel comes to life. Gregory Coleman (pictured) represented Gillespie County at the high court oral argument.

By Tony Mauro and Mary Alice Robbins

10 minute read

June 06, 2006 | National Law Journal

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to re-enter the contentious debate over affirmative action. Three years after the Court upheld race-conscious admissions policies in higher education in the Grutter v. Bollinger decision, two new cases will test that precedent in the setting of public elementary and high schools. Adding uncertainty is Justice Samuel Alito Jr.'s replacement of Sandra Day O'Connor, who was a crucial vote in favor of affirmative action and the author of the Grutter ruling.

By Tony Mauro

4 minute read

April 21, 2010 | The Legal Intelligencer

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday in a key church-state dispute over the status of a Christian group at a state university law school. But the discussion quickly devolved into a testy debate over the factual record in the case and what it was all about.

By Tony Mauro

4 minute read

June 30, 2000 | Law.com

In January, the Supreme Court was invisible. All nine justices stayed away from the State of the Union address. In June, the Supreme Court was everywhere, lobbing bombshell opinions on abortion, school prayer and gays in the Boy Scouts. So where will the Court be by November? It could go either way: absent from the political fray or in the middle of hot-button issues -- a reflection of the basic paradox of the Rehnquist Court.

By Tony Mauro

8 minute read