Welcome to Supreme Court Brief. The death of John Paul Stevens opened a new batch of papers from the late Chief Justice Rehnquist's files, and we've got a spotlight below on how Chief Justice Roberts shows up. Plus: scroll down for our recap on what Donald Verrilli Jr. said about term limits at the annual Robert H. Jackson lecture. Plus: Current SG Noel Francisco's posted a tribute to Michael Dreeben, the departing deputy solicitor. Feedback and tips are welcome: Thanks for reading! Contact us at [email protected] and [email protected], and follow us on Twitter at @Tonymauro and @MarciaCoyle.

When Roberts, the Clerk, Arranged Reunions

The late associate and chief justice William Rehnquist was known to have a playful side, arranging parties, skits and reunions along with his more serious work as a justice. “From the beginning Rehnquist and his three clerks enjoyed a spirited social life at the court,” according to the 2012 book In Chambers, by clerk chroniclers Todd Peppers and Artemus Ward.

That aspect of Rehnquist's tenure necessitated a lot of scheduling and planning, and some of those chores were delegated to the clerks themselves—including a 1980-1981 clerk by the name of John Roberts Jr.

Further proof of that, oddly enough, has come in the wake of Justice John Paul Stevens's death July 16.

Rehnquist's papers reside at the Hoover Institution Archives in California, under an arrangement that withholds documents that were generated during the terms of still-living justices with whom he worked. For that reason the first batch, opened to the public in November 2008, only went as far as 1975, when Stevens joined the court.

Upon the death of Stevens, the next installment of papers to be released expanded to September 1980, a Hoover official told The National Law Journal. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor joined the court on Sept. 25, 1981, but that is part of the 1980-1981 term of the court, so the Rehnquist papers of the 1979-1980 term were the most recent ones made public.

That group of papers includes a file titled “law clerks,” and it contains four letters addressed to then-Rehnquist clerk Roberts, which Hoover kindly forwarded to NLJ. All four were sent in May 1981, by former Rehnquist clerks responding to invitations for the annual clerk reunion dinner, followed by a picnic the next day.

Former clerks John O'Neill and Robert Wild said no, as did future veteran Supreme Court advocate Donald Ayer, who retired from Jones Day last December. Ayer told Roberts in the letter that he looked forward to “meeting you in future years.” Charles Cooper, also a Supreme Court veteran advocate, and now chairman of Cooper & Kirk, wrote to Roberts that he would attend, adding, “I look forward to seeing you and your co-clerks.” —Tony Mauro

Verrilli Endorses Supreme Court Term Limits

Count former U.S. solicitor general Don Verrilli Jr., now a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson, as in the camp embracing term limits for Supreme Court justices.

Verrilli was the keynote speaker at this year's Robert H. Jackson Lecture on the Supreme Court, at the Chautauqua Institution. Responding to a question after his remarks, Verrilli said: “The basic idea of a limited duration of service, I think that would be a good idea. It would reduce the politicization of the process. Each party's nomination would not be invested with so much political intensity. I think that would be healthy.”

Verrilli would not endorse any particular term limit proposal, and he won't necessarily gain a supporter in Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Just a few days ago, Ginsburg noted how hard it would be for any constitutional amendment ending lifetime appointment for federal judges. “The safeguards for judicial independence in this country, I think, are as great or greater than any place else in the world,” she said.

The core of Verrilli's lecture was on the need for government to be “on the level,” or straightforward and honest, in order for citizens to continue to believe in government's legitimacy.

For courts, striking the balance between deference to the executive and legislative branches and assertion of their own authority is “particularly vexing right now,” he said. “The 'not on the level' quotient of the current administration is currently high. That is putting enormous pressure on the Supreme Court.”

The struggle to find that balance, Verrilli said, played out in two recent high court decisions: the travel ban case, Trump v. Hawaii, and the census citizenship case, Department of Commerce v. New York.

The former Obama administration solicitor general pointed to Justice Robert Jackson's dissenting opinion in Korematsu v. United States. Jackson warned that the court could not uphold a challenged policy for one case only. Such a decision, Jackson said, inevitably imposes legitimacy on the policy and lays “like a loaded weapon” to be unloaded again.

In the travel ban case, “The court's decision to defer to the president, to stick to normal rules in hope we return to normal times with relatively little damage, really raised the stakes,” Verrilli said. “There's a real risk pretending we live in normal times when we don't.”

In the census case, the court did not defer to the executive branch, he said, because “there was clear proof the government was not acting on the level. But by the slimmest of margins, the narrowest of judicial grounds, there was reason to breathe a sigh of relief. We'll see where we go from here. For now, we're okay.” —Marcia Coyle

In Case You Missed It: SCOTUS Headlines

• Tribute to Michael Dreeben. “Michael Dreeben knows more about criminal law than anyone else on Earth. But it's not only his knowledge that sets him apart. It's also his talent as an advocate, and his tireless devotion to his craft,” U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco writes. [SCOTUSblog] Dreeben (above) said in June that he would be leaving the U.S. Justice Department, where he has long served as a deputy solicitor. Dreeben was a leading prosecutor on Mueller's special counsel team.

• Why the 'Knick' Ruling Signals a New Day. “Knick is not a one-off for the Roberts Five. It is part of a pattern of 73 cases through the 2018 term where the Republican-appointed justices delivered big wins for big Republican donor interests. We've seen it in voting rights, campaign finance, arbitration, environmental regulation and more,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the Rhode Island Democrat, writes. [NLJ]

• Current and Former Texas Solicitors General Line Up Against CFPB. A former Texas solicitor—Scott Keller, now at Baker Botts—and current solicitor Kyle Hawkins filed amicus briefs this week at the high court attacking the power of the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Mayer Brown's Andy Pincus represents the Chamber of Commerce as another amicus. [NLJ]

• Liberal Groups Seek to Make Supreme Court an Issue in 2020 Presidential Race, and Conservatives Exult. “The brewing debate over the shape and structure of the high court, as well as lower federal courts, could influence the Democratic race for the party's 2020 presidential nomination and further politicize the nation's judiciary following three brutal confirmation battles. Both sides are eager for a brawl.” [USA Today]

• Republicans Sue to Block Michigan Redistricting Commission. “Republicans are suing to stop Michigan's new citizen redistricting commission before it begins, alleging the voter-approved amendment is “blatantly unconstitutional” and discriminates against participants based on political service or family ties.” [USA Today]