Through Sunday, August 15, we are continuing to accept applications for both blog internships, as well as for the job opening for a special assistant to Tom Goldstein/Howe & Russell office manager/SCOTUSblog staff member. See instructions and requirements for applying here (for the internships) and here (for the paid position). To answer a frequently asked [...]... Read More »»»

Above the Law reports that newly confirmed Justice Elena Kagan has hired four law clerks, three of whom have just finished clerking for other Justices.  David Lat describes Kagan’s hiring of Allon Kedem, a former clerk for Justice Anthony Kennedy as “very shrewd,” explaining that Kedem “knows how [Justice Kennedy]  thinks and how the swing [...]... Read More »»»

Lawyers involved in the federal constitutional case over California’s ban on same-sex marriage — Proposition 8 — said Wednesday night that the judge will rule Thursday afternoon on whether to delay or put into effect his ruling striking down the ban.  The ruling on the stay request filed by supporters of Proposition 8 is expected [...]... Read More »»»

Academics have written extensively on the Supreme Court’s decisions in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal.  The cases appeared to replace the so-called “notice pleading” standard with the requirement that claims in pleadings survive review for “plausibility”—an arguably higher hurdle.  These decisions did not claim to be radically altering the pleading standards, [...]... Read More »»»

With Elena Kagan now embarking on her new role as a Justice, attention has turned to who might fill the role she is leaving, and when. In an article for the Daily Journal, Lawrence Hurley reports that although “the White House does not have a solicitor general nominee lined up,” the current Acting Solicitor General, [...]... Read More »»»

Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal today named Assistant to the Solicitor General Leondra Kruger to the position of Acting Principal Deputy Solicitor General.  Kruger developed a sterling reputation this Term as an extraordinary advocate before the Court.  The interim appointment suggests that the Administration is not immediately poised to name a permanent successor to now-Justice [...]... Read More »»»

Supreme Court news continues to focus on now-Justice Kagan. At Concurring Opinions, Brandon Bartels expresses doubt that the Kagan confirmation hearings taught us “anything new about the Supreme Court appointment process”’ and concludes that if President Obama has the opportunity to replace a conservative Justice, “we can surely count on a highly dramatic, contentious appointment [...]... Read More »»»

Last week we updated our sister site, SCOTUSwiki, to include a number of new filings in OT10 merits cases.  We have added new petitioners’ briefs to the case pages for Sossamon v. Texas, AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion, and Williamson v. Mazda Motor, and a new respondents’ brief has been added to the case page for [...]... Read More »»»

On Saturday, in a ceremony attended by (among others) Justices Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Sotomayor and retired Justice Stevens, Elena Kagan was officially sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts as the 112th Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Christian Science Monitor, NPR, [...]... Read More »»»

The Supreme Court on Monday released a revised calendar of oral arguments for the first session of the new Term, beginning Monday, Oct. 4.  No cases from the previous version have been dropped, and no new cases have been added.  The only changes were to rearrange the order of the cases, to different time slots on [...]... Read More »»»

The Court is in recess for the summer; it is expected to return on October 4 for the first oral argument of October Term 2010. The schedule of merits briefs due this week follows the jump. Monday, August 9: Petitioner’s brief in Wall v. Kholi (09-868) Petitioner’s brief in Cullen v. Pinholster (09-1088) Respondents’ brief [...]... Read More »»»

This afternoon, Elena Kagan was sworn in as the 112th Justice, and the fourth woman, to serve on the Supreme Court.  Chief Justice John Roberts administered the Constitutional Oath in a private ceremony in the Justices’ Conference Room, and then administered the Judicial Oath in the Court’s West Conference Room before a gathering of Kagan’s [...]... Read More »»»

The Supreme Court, without noted dissents, on Friday refused to block the start next Tuesday of a war crimes trial of a young Canadian detainee at Guantanamo Bay — Omar Khadr.  The brief order, noting that Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., had submitted the issue to the full Court, gave no explanation fpr tje [...]... Read More »»»

The backers of California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage have started their appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of the trial judge’s ruling nullifying that ban under the federal Constitution.  The notice of appeal was filed right after the ruling was issued on Wednesday; it is here. At the Circuit Court, the case (Perry, [...]... Read More »»»

Yesterday afternoon, the Senate confirmed Elena Kagan as the 112th Justice of the Supreme Court by a vote of sixty-three to thirty-seven.  NPR, the Associated Press, the Washington Post, the WSJ Law Blog, the CQ Researcher Blog, USA Today, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times and [...]... Read More »»»