Welcome to this edition of The Supreme Court Brief. 

The Democratic chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee has set the stage for a confrontation with billionaires Harlan Crow and Robin Arkley and conservative kingmaker Leonard Leo over their ties to conservative justices.

Chairman Dick Durbin, of Illiniois, said the committee "will vote to authorize issuing subpoenas" to the three influential conservatives after they rebuffed earlier inquiries into media reports documenting secret perks arranged for Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito Jr.