Supreme Court Brief | Analysis of The Top SCOTUS Cases

Clarence Thomas's Confirmation Faces #MeToo Microscope

Marcia Coyle | February 19, 2018

A New York magazine report Sunday raised new questions about Justice Clarence Thomas's U.S. Senate confirmation hearings amid the national dialogue now about misconduct claims against men in power.

7 minute read

Clarence Thomas Derides 'Myth-Making' of Supreme Court Justices

Marcia Coyle | | February 15, 2018

"We don't have the time, energy, ink or bites to change or to engage in that narrative. We have work to do. We have to write opinions," Thomas said in a wide-ranging interview with Judge Gregory Maggs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

4 minute read

Marcia Coyle's Cases to Watch at Next Supreme Court Conference

Mike Scarcella | | February 13, 2018

Catch up with Marcia Coyle, chief Washington correspondent for The National Law Journal, on what to watch at Friday's U.S. Supreme Court conference.

2 minute read

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Seized the #MeToo Moment. Here's What She Is Saying

Marcia Coyle | February 13, 2018

"I'm hopeful this movement will succeed in stopping something that should've been stopped a long time ago,” Ginsburg said Monday at an event at University of Pennsylvania Law School. Her remarks were the latest in recent weeks about the #MeToo movement.

3 minute read

Commentary

Remembering 'The Boss': Scalia's Legacy, 2 Years On

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | | February 13, 2018

“Even two years on from his death, Justice Scalia remains a powerful influence on the court," said Kannon Shanmugam, a former Scalia law clerk and head of Williams & Connolly's Supreme Court and appellate litigation practice.

5 minute read

The Supreme Court Is Center Stage in Lawyer-Playwright's Tribal-Rights Drama

Marcia Coyle | | February 12, 2018

"We have to educate Americans about who we are. Let's face it, no one else is. Theater is a very powerful way to do that," says Mary Kathryn Nagle, the lawyer and playwright whose play "Sovereignty" explores Native American rights through the U.S. Supreme Court past and present.

8 minute read

Will Chief Justice Roberts Be Asked to Testify on Nunes Memo?

Tony Mauro | | February 08, 2018

The suggestion that Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. might be asked to testify before Congress in the wake of the controversial “Nunes memo” is drawing criticism and raising questions about the separation of powers.

4 minute read

What's Ahead in 'U.S. v. Microsoft' | RBG Gets 'Seedy' in NY

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | | February 07, 2018

Amici are lining up behind Microsoft in the company's high profile digital privacy fight with the U.S. government.

7 minute read

Covington, Gibson Dunn Are Big Law's DACA Defense at Supreme Court

Marcia Coyle | | February 07, 2018

As Congress and the White House quarrel over the fate of 690,000 so-called Dreamers, two veteran U.S. Supreme Court advocates are urging the justices to reject the Trump administration's effort to get them involved now in the related legal fight.

6 minute read

Marcia Coyle: It's Winter Break at the Supreme Court, But There's a Lot Still Going On

Mike Scarcella | | February 06, 2018

Catch up with Marcia Coyle on goings on at the U.S. Supreme Court.

1 minute read

Sotomayor Works the Room at Emory

Jonathan Ringel | | February 06, 2018

Justice Sonia Sotomayor chuckled at how court members sometimes write in a decision, "The answer is clear." "If it was clear, there wouldn't be a split" in the circuit courts that led the high court to take the case in the first place, she said.

3 minute read

Neil Gorsuch Won't Need an Introduction From This Advocate in Union-Fee Case

Marcia Coyle | | February 01, 2018

David Frederick, name partner in Washington's Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, will argue for the first time in front of his former law firm colleague, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.

5 minute read

Minority Attorneys Take a Closer Look at the SCOTUS Clerk Diversity Dearth

Tony Mauro | February 01, 2018

U.S. Supreme Court justices should step up and state publicly that they want greater diversity among their law clerks, said Howard University School…

7 minute read

SCOTUS in the House | #GorsuchStyle | Election Law Tsunami

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | | January 31, 2018

The justices are in week two of their winter break but that hardly slows the wheels of litigation. We have an update on the not-so-quiet winter break.

8 minute read

In First State of the Union, Trump Spotlights Judge Picks

Tony Mauro | | January 30, 2018

President Donald Trump boasted Tuesday night that he has appointed “more circuit judges than any new administration in the history of our country” and called Neil Gorsuch “a great new Supreme Court justice."

3 minute read

Paul Smith and Marcia Coyle in Conversation: Gerrymandering at the Supreme Court

Mike Scarcella | | January 30, 2018

Marcia Coyle, the NLJ's chief Washington correspondent, sits down with Paul Smith, vice president for litigation and strategy at the Campaign Legal Center, to dig into the Supreme Court's two partisan gerrymandering cases this term.

2 minute read

Is RBG's State of the Union No-Show a No-No?

Tony Mauro | | January 29, 2018

The justice's critics pounced on Twitter. But, in fact, it's common for Supreme Court justices to skip the annual presidential address.

5 minute read

Justice Sonia Sotomayor Charms Crowd of Law Students, Lawyers, Judges

Brenda Sapino Jeffreys | | January 26, 2018

The Supreme Court justice spoke at the University of Houston Law Center, commenting on legal education, the quality of lawyers who argue before the Supreme Court and the intersection of politics and the law.

4 minute read

Latest Rap on Gorsuch: He's a Rotten Writer

Tony Mauro | | January 26, 2018

Neil Gorsuch has his defenders. Still, criticism that his writing is heavy-handed has to sting for a justice who has long been praised for his prose.

5 minute read

Neil Gorsuch Dines With US Senators, and It's the Talk of This Town

Marcia Coyle | | January 23, 2018

"It was a private dinner, but I think about it as a return to civility in Washington, something we could use more of," Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who hosted the dinner, reportedly said in response to questions about the gathering.

5 minute read

'Waters' Cases Belong in Federal District Court, Justices Rule

Marcia Coyle | | January 22, 2018

Business groups, 29 states, agricultural organizations and other industries scored a big victory Monday in their long-running challenges to the so-called "Waters of the United States" rule.

2 minute read

Marcia Coyle: What the Justices' Flurry of Early Rulings Revealed

Mike Scarcella | | January 22, 2018

Marcia Coyle shares her observations of Monday's decisions, the first wave in the court's new term.

1 minute read

Justice Ginsburg Scorns 'History Lesson' in This Gorsuch Dissent

Marcia Coyle | | January 22, 2018

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Neil Gorsuch sparred over jurisdiction in a Monday ruling—Gorsuch, in dissent, lost. "We've wandered so far from the idea of a federal government of limited and enumerated powers," he wrote in his closing.

6 minute read

Justice Ginsburg Hitting the Law School Circuit

Karen Sloan | | January 22, 2018

The U.S. Supreme Court justice is kicking off a whirlwind tour of campuses, just days after the premier of a new documentary about her life.

5 minute read

On a Busy Day at SCOTUS, Justices Take Up Key Environmental Case

Tony Mauro | | January 22, 2018

The justices will consider when the federal government can regulate private land under the Endangered Species Act in a case that's drawn strong interest from business advocates, conservative interest groups and states.

4 minute read

Government Shutdown? SCOTUS Is Unfazed.

Tony Mauro | | January 20, 2018

A government-wide shutdown is a "non-event," retired Supreme Court clerk William Suter said in an interview Saturday. "The court marches on."

3 minute read

SCOTUS Picks O'Melveny Partner to Argue in Case Challenging SEC Judges

Tony Mauro | | January 19, 2018

New York litigator Anton Metlitsky, a former clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., received the nod to argue his first-ever Supreme Court case after the Justice Department abandoned its defense.

3 minute read

Citing 'Unprecedented' Injunction, DOJ Takes DACA Fight to SCOTUS

Cogan Schneier | | January 18, 2018

The Justice Department said an injunction would persist for months if the appeal is allowed to go through the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit first.

4 minute read

Wilmer's Seth Waxman Makes Case Against Lawyer in Death Penalty Dispute

Marcia Coyle | | January 17, 2018

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday grappled with whether a criminal defense lawyer violates the Constitution by ignoring his client's express wishes in order to save him from the death penalty.

4 minute read

How Wilmer's Seth Waxman Became Dean of SCOTUS Death Penalty Defense

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | | January 17, 2018

Plus, surprise questions, déjà vu arguments, and more justice sightings.

11 minute read

Q&A

Q&A: When Former Judges Become Friends of the Court—and Clients

Tony Mauro | | January 17, 2018

The amicus brief Ruthanne Deutsch filed in 'Hall v. Hall' on behalf of eight retired district court judges got some attention Tuesday. She discussed her experience working on the brief and the perspective former jurists can contribute.

4 minute read

Marcia Coyle Explains: What's Up With the Dearth of SCOTUS Opinions?

Leigh Jones | | January 16, 2018

The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a single signed opinion since the start of the 2017-2018 term. What's up with that?

2 minute read

Trump Looks to Fast-Track DACA Appeal to Supreme Court

Cogan Schneier | | January 16, 2018

The Justice Department announced Tuesday it would both appeal a California federal judge's ruling from last week and seek direct review from the U.S. Supreme Court.

3 minute read

New Book on Scalia Bares Turbulent—and Good—Times With the Justice

Tony Mauro | | January 16, 2018

Writing expert Bryan Garner doesn't pull punches in a new book about his partnership with the late Antonin Scalia. The result is a fascinating and three-dimensional portrayal.

4 minute read

UVA Prof Nabs Rare Invite | Ferris Bueller's Ferrari | Inside 'Nino and Me'

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | | January 16, 2018

University of Virginia law professor Aditya Bamzai has thrown a curveball to lawyers arguing Tuesday in consolidated cases with potential significance for civilian control of the nation's military. Plus, a look at Bryan Garner's new book about his partnership with Justice Antonin Scalia.

9 minute read

With New IP Case on Its Docket, SCOTUS Poised to Shake Up Patent Damages

Scott Graham | | January 12, 2018

In WesternGeco v. Ion Geophysical, the justices might carve a small exception into the usual presumption against extraterritorial damages—or open the spigot to global patent damages.

6 minute read

Supreme Court Takes Up Dispute Over SEC Judges

Tony Mauro | | January 12, 2018

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday granted review in a case that could imperil thousands of commission proceedings and affect the status of administrative law judges in other federal agencies.

3 minute read

Justices, Adding 12 Cases, Will Rule on State Sales Taxes for Online Retailers

Marcia Coyle | | January 12, 2018

A victory for the state could open a potential multibillion-dollar source of revenue for the states.

4 minute read

Marcia Coyle's Take on the Supreme Court's Ohio Voter-Purge Arguments

Mike Scarcella | | January 11, 2018

Marcia Coyle, chief Washington correspondent at The National Law Journal, appears on PBS NewsHour to review the U.S. Supreme Court's arguments over the merits of Ohio's process to purge state voter rolls.

2 minute read

Sotomayor Confronts DOJ's Noel Francisco About Switched-Up Position in Ohio Voter Case

Marcia Coyle | | January 10, 2018

"Seems quite unusual that your office would change its position so dramatically," Justice Sotomayor told Noel Francisco, the U.S. solicitor general, about the Justice Department's abandonment of earlier litigation positions.

7 minute read

A Repeat Player Steps Up | Justice Thomas Gets Giddy | SG Stands Firm … Even in Error

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | | January 10, 2018

After a last minute shuffle, veteran SCOTUS advocate Paul Smith faces off against Ohio's solicitor general and Noel Francisco in a high-stakes voter registration case.

10 minute read

Justices Struggle With Privacy Rights in Police Searches of Rental Cars

Marcia Coyle | | January 09, 2018

“What worries me is what's our rule going to be,” Justice Stephen Breyer said Tuesday. “Are we going to have a [Fourth Amendment] rule for car rental cases?”

4 minute read

Marcia Coyle on Supreme Court's Ohio Voter Purge Case

Mike Scarcella | | January 09, 2018

Catch up on what's coming up at the U.S. Supreme Court.

1 minute read

Welcome to 4th Amendment Day: This Isn't Your Dad's Chevy

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | | January 09, 2018

The justices delve into back-to-back challenges involving vehicle searches this morning. Plus a dearth of women arguing in January, and we wrap up Monday's Georgia v. Florida water war argument.

9 minute read

In SCOTUS Water Dispute, Florida Edges Ahead of Georgia

Tony Mauro | | January 08, 2018

Georgia's lawyer, Kirkland & Ellis partner Craig Primis, spent Monday's Supreme Court argument on the defensive, insisting that Florida had not proved its case that less water for Georgia means more for Florida.

4 minute read

SCOTUS Blocks Execution in Georgia Over a Juror's Racial Bias

Katheryn Tucker | | January 08, 2018

“One might wonder why the Court engages in this pointless exercise,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his dissent. “The only possible explanation is its concern with the 'unusual facts' of this case, specifically a juror affidavit that expresses racist opinions about blacks. The opinions in the affidavit are certainly odious. But their odiousness does not excuse us from doing our job correctly, or allow us to pretend that the lower courts have not done theirs.”

4 minute read

Justices Won't Review Challenges to Mississippi's Anti-Gay Law

Marcia Coyle | | January 08, 2018

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review two challenges to a Mississippi law considered to be one of the most extreme anti-gay rights laws in the country.

4 minute read

Why Today's Docket Is Totally Original | Plus, Close Encounters of the SCOTUS Kind

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | | January 08, 2018

Justices return to the bench today for the first oral arguments of 2018 in two state disputes over water.

8 minute read

Trump Wanted Loyalty in Supreme Court Pick, New Book 'Fire and Fury' Says

Marcia Coyle | | January 04, 2018

Michael Wolff, writing in his new book "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," reportedly wrote: "In the Trump view, it was rather a waste to give the job to someone he didn't even know.”

5 minute read

What to Watch in 2018: Hot Petitions, Big Cases and Justice Kennedy

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | | January 03, 2018

Now that we've put 2017 to bed, it's time to focus on 2018 which promises to be just as packed with contentious issues and top-flight Supreme Court advocates at the podium.

11 minute read

Seven Cases to Watch at the Supreme Court's First Conference in New Year

Marcia Coyle | | January 02, 2018

Justices are weighing disputes over the lawfulness of the SEC's administrative law judges; online sales taxes; an ethics clash between Main Justice and the ACLU; and Arizona's death penalty.

6 minute read

Chief Justice Roberts' Year-End Report: Judiciary 'Not Immune' from Sexual Harassment

Tony Mauro | | December 31, 2017

“We have a new challenge in the coming year,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his annual year-end report. “Events in recent months have illuminated the depth of the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace, and events in the past few weeks have made clear that the judicial branch is not immune.”

5 minute read

Marcia Coyle Looks Ahead to the Supreme Court in 2018: What to Watch

Mike Scarcella | | December 29, 2017

What to expect in early January? Decisions! Marcia Coyle sums up what to watch as the Supreme Court returns to business in the new year.

2 minute read

Laughing Isn't Banned at US Supreme Court. Here Are Some of the Year's Best Lines

Marcia Coyle | | December 28, 2017

Revisit U.S. Supreme Court dialogue that brought laughter this year.

7 minute read

Roberts Tells Judiciary to Review Safeguards Against Workplace Misconduct

Mike Scarcella | December 20, 2017

"The Chief Justice has asked me to establish a working group to examine the sufficiency of the safeguards currently in place within the Judiciary to protect court employees, including law clerks, from wrongful conduct in the workplace," James Duff, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Court, said in a memo.

4 minute read

The Late Justice Joseph Story Trumps Louis Brandeis in CFPB Honors Program

Tony Mauro | | December 20, 2017

The bureau's press statement offers some hints about why Joseph Story, a justice from 1811 to 1845, is being honored, but not about why Louis Brandeis, formerly a pro-consumer litigator, was sidelined.

4 minute read

Supreme Court Brief: What Should Roberts Say In His Annual Year-End Report?

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | | December 20, 2017

In the wake of the Alex Kozinski debacle, will Chief Judge John Roberts Jr. comment on sexual harassment in the judiciary? Plus, a First Amendment challenge to mandatory bar membership and five "must-read" books for SCOTUS lovers.

9 minute read

Mandatory Bar Association Fees Face New Challenge in the US Supreme Court

Marcia Coyle | | December 19, 2017

"This case challenges the constitutionality of North Dakota's mandatory bar association laws under the First Amendment," the petition from the Goldwater Institute says.

4 minute read

Event

RSVP Now! SCOTUS Clerks and Diversity: A Conversation With Tony Mauro and Neal Katyal

Law.com Editors | December 14, 2017

Tune in today! Join National Law Journal Supreme Court correspondent Tony Mauro and former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal for a conference call at 3 ET to discuss new demographic research on Supreme Court law clerks. The call is free. Register now and be part of the conversation.

2 minute read

With Luttig as GC, Boeing Lands Fleet of Former SCOTUS Clerks

Tony Mauro | | December 12, 2017

Boeing's executive vice president and general counsel J. Michael Luttig has been staffing the company's law department with former U.S. Supreme Court law clerks.

13 minute read

How Jones Day Cornered the Market on SCOTUS Clerks

Tony Mauro | December 12, 2017

The unprecedented Jones Day spree is a testament to the cachet of Supreme Court clerks and the unspoken presumption that all of them—or almost all—emerge from the nation's highest court polished and ready to take on whatever legal task is handed them.

6 minute read

Lessons From Long-Shot SCOTUS Clerks: Work Hard, Stand Out, Stay Grounded

Karen Sloan | | December 12, 2017

We collected the stories of four unlikely SCOTUS clerks to provide a glimpse of how hard work, happenstance and well-placed mentors can pave a nontraditional path to the U.S. Supreme Court. Here's what they had to say.

41 minute read

Stanford No. 3 Among Supreme Court Feeder Schools

Ross Todd | | December 12, 2017

The 38 clerks that Stanford has sent over the past dozen years is about a third the amount sent by Harvard and Yale. The school has sent twice as many clerks to the court's liberal justices than its conservatives.

16 minute read

Who Gets the Golden Ticket? SCOTUS Clerks and Diversity

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | | December 12, 2017

The court gets a slow start on decisions and some troubling news on diversity.

8 minute read

Justice Thomas Ventures Beyond Elite Schools to Fill Clerkship Posts

Karen Sloan | | December 11, 2017

In a system where justices pull heavily from their own alma maters and a handful of other top schools, Justice Clarence Thomas casts the widest net.

11 minute read

Infographic

SCOTUS Clerks: The Law School Pipeline

When it comes to Supreme Court law clerks, it's Harvard and Yale—and then everyone else. This chart ranks the top 15 law school feeders from 2005 to 2017. Go deeper for a justice-by-justice view.

2 minute read

Marcia Coyle Highlights NLJ's SCOTUS Clerk Series

Mike Scarcella | | December 11, 2017

Marcia Coyle, senior Washington correspondent at The National Law Journal, spotlights key findings in ALM's special report about diversity among U.S. Supreme Court law clerks.

1 minute read

Who Are the Supreme Court's Biggest Feeder Judges?

The path to a U.S. Supreme Court clerkship runs disproportionately through the chambers of certain circuit judges, many of whom sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and almost all of whom are white men.

4 minute read

Justices Turn Down LGBT Workplace Discrimination Challenge

Marcia Coyle | December 11, 2017

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to decide whether the nation's workplace anti-bias law bars sexual orientation discrimination. The justices may soon have another opportunity to take up the closely watched question. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit heard arguments Sept. 26.

4 minute read

SCOTUS Law Clerks: The Diversity Picture

Shut Out: SCOTUS Law Clerks Still Mostly White and Male

Since 2005, the pool of U.S. Supreme Court law clerks has been less diverse than law school graduates or law firm associates. Explore hiring by the current justices using this interactive.

2 minute read

A Look Inside the Elite World of Supreme Court Law Clerks

According to a National Law Journal study, the U.S. Supreme Court's clerk ranks are less diverse than law school graduates or law firm associates—and the justices aren't doing much to change that.

16 minute read

ALM Staff | December 11, 2017

A Supreme Court clerkship can be a golden ticket to career success. We examined 13 years of data to see who makes the cut, how they get there and the professional pathways they follow.

6 minute read

Misconduct Claims Against Kozinski Put New Spotlight on Past Controversies

Marcia Coyle | | December 08, 2017

"Tell Kozinski to watch pornography at home and not in his own court," the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist reportedly once said about the Ninth Circuit judge.

6 minute read

Last Argument Day of 2017 | Plus, Snap Predictions in Masterpiece Cake

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | | December 06, 2017

Today is the last day the Supreme Court will hear arguments until next year. Compared with Tuesday's super high-profile Masterpiece Cakeshop case, it's…

10 minute read

With SCOTUS Cloud Overhead, Appeals Courts Take Up Travel Ban 3.0

Cogan Schneier | | December 05, 2017

Two federal appeals courts will hear oral arguments this week on the third iteration of President Donald Trump's travel ban, but a sweeping ruling Monday from the U.S. Supreme Court does not bode well for plaintiffs.

7 minute read

'How Do You Draw a Line?' Key Moments From the Supreme Court's Wedding Cake Case

Marcia Coyle | | December 05, 2017

By the end of the arguments, the justices seemed closely divided, with those on the left deeply skeptical of the First Amendment speech claim, and those on the right more sympathetic to his religion claim. Here are highlights from Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission—what may become the term's biggest decision.

7 minute read

Masterpiece Cake Quartet | Gov. Christie Goes to Court | Recusal Watch

Tony Mauro | Marcia Coyle | | December 05, 2017

One blockbuster day down, one to go! Supreme Court Brief is back with a quick look at what is the most hotly debated case of the term, at least judging…

10 minute read