Tony

June 28, 2016 | National Law Journal

The high-profile challenge brought against the collection of public-sector union fees from non-union members in California ended Tuesday as the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to rehear the dispute.

By Tony Mauro

4 minute read

June 23, 2016 | Supreme Court Brief

Justice Anthony Kennedy, who has voted against every race-based affirmative action program during his tenure on the court, shifted gears Thursday, writing the majority opinion upholding the University of Texas' affirmative-action policy for undergraduate admissions. He found that the use of race as a factor in university admissions could withstand strict scrutiny.

By Tony Mauro

7 minute read

June 21, 2016 | National Law Journal

Report sent to White House and senators deems Merrick Garland "well-qualified" to serve on the nation's high court.

By Tony Mauro

4 minute read

June 20, 2016 | National Law Journal

In a powerful dissent, the Supreme Court's first and only Hispanic member discussed "the talk" that parents in many minority communities must give their children.

By Tony Mauro

8 minute read

June 20, 2016 | Supreme Court Brief

For Supreme Court advocates and academics with time to travel this summer, here's a trifecta offer from Tulane University Law School: spend three days in Paris, listen to talks by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito Jr., and earn CLE credit to boot.

By Tony Mauro

6 minute read

June 16, 2016 | Supreme Court Brief

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is known to have his doubts about stare decisis, the doctrine of standing by precedents. The late Justice Antonin Scalia once said that Thomas "doesn't believe in stare decisis, period." Practitioners know that he is the justice most receptive to pleas to overturn undesirable precedents. Thomas's concurrence in an Indian law case June 13 may take the cake.

By Tony Mauro

8 minute read

June 13, 2016 | Supreme Court Brief

Recusal has emerged as an issue in the presidential campaign, in the form of Republican candidate Donald Trump's criticism of Judge Gonzalo Curiel for not stepping aside from the civil suit against Trump University. The high court itself has faced recusal controversies in recent years, prompting calls for justices to be more transparent in explaining why they do or don't recuse in certain cases. Stetson University College of Law professor Louis Virelli III has just written Disqualifying the High Court, a book about recusal that focuses mainly on the Supreme Court but also charts the history of recusal statutes—many of which he believes are unconstitutional. Our conversation with Virelli was edited for length and clarity.

By Tony Mauro

5 minute read

June 13, 2016 | New York Law Journal

Judges who had a "significant, personal involvement" in a case during their previous role as a prosecutor must recuse when ruling on the case at a later stage, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

By Tony Mauro

10 minute read

June 06, 2016 | National Law Journal

Fish & Richardson's IP practice had a record-setting year in 2015, filing more than 300 patent cases in court and 103 petitions before the Patent Trail and Appeal Board — more than any other law firm, by its count.

By Tony Mauro

9 minute read

June 06, 2016 | Law.com

In his 11th year as chief justice, John Roberts Jr. is sounding wistful about the days earlier in his career when lawyers who argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and law clerks who worked for the justices were less polished than they are now.

By Tony Mauro

10 minute read