Tony Mauro

April 05, 2011 | National Law Journal

Mike Sacks, the Georgetown University Law Center graduate who gained an Internet following in the last 15 months with his blog about the Supreme Court, abruptly shut down the blog on April 4 in anticipation of starting a new job as an associate at Reed Smith's D.C. office.

By Tony Mauro

3 minute read

May 09, 2005 | Law.com

Some thought the death of famed lawyer Johnnie Cochran would moot the Supreme Court case bearing his name. But weeks have passed since the justices raised the mootness issue, and advocates on both sides say that may be an indication that the Court is preparing an actual decision in the case. However, the Court is not under any deadline to respond and could, in its own unpredictable fashion, leave the parties guessing until a ruling is issued -- or the case is dismissed, as late as the end of June.

By Tony Mauro

5 minute read

January 22, 2010 | Law.com

The U.S. Supreme Court's dramatic 5-4 ruling Thursday in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission drew charges of judicial activism, with critics of the decision, including President Barack Obama, immediately predicting it would alter elections in 2010 and beyond by unleashing a new flood of corporate and union money into a system already awash with special-interest funds. Supporters of the ruling applauded the Court for embracing core First Amendment protections for political speech.

By Tony Mauro

5 minute read

March 01, 2007 | National Law Journal

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer looked skyward Wednesday as he tried to come up with a "more amazing" hypothetical during arguments in a key church-state case. With or without divine intervention, he found one: Could the federal government fund churches and ministers of a single religion "dedicated to the proposition that this particular sect is the true sect," without fear of taxpayer lawsuits against it? "Horrible hypothetical," growled Solicitor General Paul Clement, but he went on to say yes.

By Tony Mauro

5 minute read

August 09, 2007 | Law.com

Eighteen months into his tenure on the Supreme Court, Justice Samuel Alito Jr. has one small complaint. During oral argument, the Court's junior justice said in a talk on Tuesday at Pepperdine University School of Law, his colleagues are so inquisitive that "it's extremely difficult to get a question in." Describing the Court's internal deliberation process, Alito said the justices speak and cast votes in order of seniority. "By the time they get to me, I'm either irrelevant or very important," he said.

By Tony Mauro

4 minute read

June 01, 2009 | New York Law Journal

By Tony Mauro

7 minute read

February 16, 2011 | New York Law Journal

By Tony Mauro

5 minute read

April 25, 2000 | Law.com

Justices appeared skeptical Tuesday of Nebraska's partial birth abortion ban, possibly foreshadowing a Supreme Court ruling that will once again embrace a woman's right to seek an abortion. The case brought the abortion issue back to the Supreme Court for the first time since 1992. But the passage of time and the arrival of two new justices appeared not to have disturbed the Court's view on the issue.

By Tony Mauro

4 minute read

November 05, 2004 | Law.com

The Supreme Court may decide to consider the legality of laws in effect in 48 states that do not permit convicted felons to vote. Two of the cases set for discussion at the Court's private conference today ask whether such laws violate the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Civil rights groups claim that more than 40 percent of the people who cannot vote because of past convictions are black, and describe the laws as "the last vestige of slavery in our country."

By Tony Mauro

5 minute read

February 22, 2006 | National Law Journal

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr.'s first day on the bench Tuesday was an unusually busy one. The Court heard arguments in key environmental cases, issued a ruling involving freedom of religion, and granted review in a challenge to the 2003 federal Partial-Birth Abortion Act that will put the justices back in the center of the national abortion rights debate. Abortion rights supporters immediately sounded the alarm about the Court's decision to review the case with its two new conservative members.

By Tony Mauro

5 minute read