Steve Klepper

Tillman will be a fabulous Virginia Solicitor General. He's also a genuinely nice person. If you're a young Virginian with an interest in appellate practice, do yourself a favor and shoot him a resume for any open position.

@s_sullivan So on-brand

Last week, Plato. This week? Cock Sparrer.

Guys I wrote a 2000 word essay about a 1983 punk record WTF is wrong with me.

Maryland Supreme Court energy like:

The Supreme Court of Maryland is now only wearing its red robes on ceremonial days mdappblog.com/2025/09/05/mar…

Spent all day on the Internet trying to find Stephen A Smith’s views on the NBA Finals but no luck

Terrific panel, Will the Third Branch Hold? A Discussion of the Role of Article III Courts, Judicial Independence and the Rule of Law Thanks to Carrie Williams, Judge Paul Michel of Article III Coalition, Natalie Orpett of @lawfare, and @mjs_DC of Slate

WOW Fourth Circuit holds that a jurisdiction-stripping statute depends on a functioning Merit Systems Protections Board and Special Counsel. Because we don’t have those, the Court remands to decide whether court has jurisdiction ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/23223…

It’s my annual roundup of the Maryland certiorari statistics that matter: grant rates that exclude pro se petitions mdappblog.com/2025/05/27/mar…

The ruling against the Harborplace challengers was likely unanimous, because there’s no “a majority concurring” clause in the order. We’ll find out for sure when an opinion comes out later (by 8/31/2025, probably earlier) mdcourts.gov/data/opinions/…

@MelissaBalough That’s why I’d go in the 70-99% column. But Harris is a lawyer who can see greatness and who’s want to appoint the most influential justice, above all else, and Prelogar is GREAT at persuading justices

@MDAppeal I think it greatly depends on whether it's one of the men who dies/retires or one of the women. There will be long conversations about whether the country is "ready" for a female majority on the Court. Because, you know, we are the "other."

If Kamala Harris wins the presidency and a SCOTUS seat opens, what are the odds that SG Elizabeth Prelogar is the nominee?

@JoeDudekJD You know my limited set of references so well

In an unlikely twist, comedian John Mulaney be on a panel with Prof. Akhil Amar and @neal_katyal on "Textualist Approaches of Constitutional Interpretation" at the Yale Law Alumni weekend later this month. (It's his parents' 50th reunion.)

@legalwritingpro Ouch, that song is still on my gym mix on Spotify

@MDAppeal The #1 song that year was . . . "Tik Tok."

"Not so." is now as American as baseball and apple pie. It's even the second sentence of the Special Counsel's blockbuster motion on Trump immunity! #legalwriting

@ezraiyoung @RuthanneDeutsch @smmarotta Just don’t do it. I roll my eyes every time and see it.

@RuthanneDeutsch @smmarotta Need I also be certain the court will agree?

To be sure, we love "not so." But in moderation.

Just call me Juror 4296 today! No, seriously: “In any proceeding conducted in the courtroom or in chambers, a juror shall be referred to by juror number and not by name.” Md. Rule 4-312(b)(2).

@AngryBlackLady Oh no! I haven’t watched in 30+ years so I still think of him as “new Roman.” Always loved that his real name sounded 10x more like a soap opera character than his character name

@smmarotta Agreed!!

Wild Robot is fantastic just in case anyone was wondering.