Supreme Ambitions

Trump wound up sitting in the public gallery. For more on this, see the post linked below, 5 Observations On The #SCOTUS Argument In The Birthright Citizenship Case. LINK: bit.ly/4v4j8Q7

Fear not, #SCOTUS clerks—you won't get booted from the birthright citizenship argument at the Supreme Court this morning to make way for Donald Trump. Apparently #POTUS has a dedicated seat in the courtroom at One First Street (see thread below).

Justice Samuel Alito Won’t Hang Up His Robes Anytime Soon This is an UPDATED version of my @BloombergLaw column. I'm still predicting no #SCOTUS retirements in 2026, but this update continues new info going the other way. LINK: bit.ly/4aQHF1Q

What letter grade does my audience of lawyers and law students assign to the #SCOTUS opinions in the tariffs case? The pick of the plurality is where I end up (for reasons given in my analysis of the ruling). LINK: bit.ly/4qRdu0i

Lovely piece here by my friend @btfitzpat on the legacy of his former boss, Justice Scalia. Love him or hate him, no one can doubt that he changed the way we do law. And with such wit. scotusblog.com/2026/02/justic…

3 Tips For Appellate Advocates—From Paul Clement Clement's argument to #SCOTUS last week in Trump v. Cook was "a master class in oral argument," per @whignewtons. Here are a few lessons that litigators can learn from it. LINK: bit.ly/4qcpauv (cc: #appellatetwitter)

Crystal Clanton is a former law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas. Foregoing a six-figure #SCOTUS clerk bonus, she's decided to join @America1stLegal as a lawyer, litigating high-profile causes to advance conservative causes. Link to story below.👇

Niche tweet, but it's interesting that Justice Gorsuch continues his practice of often hiring a law professor to serve as one of his clerks. Among his clerks: @syelderman, OT2019, who had been a law professor at Notre Dame for one year; @mark_storslee, OT2021, who had been at Penn State for two years (and is now at UNC). @shbarclay, OT2021, who had been at BYU for 2 years and Notre Dame for one year (and is now at Georgetown); Tara Helfman, OT2022, who had been a tenured professor at Syracuse; @cburset, OT2024, who was (and is) a tenured professor at Notre Dame, now visiting at Chicago; and now @tylerblindley, for OT2026, who is at BYU Law.

Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: Happy New Hires The latest #SCOTUS clerk hires, a cornucopia of scholarship related to #SupremeCourt clerks and clerkships, and an ethics question from Reddit. LINK: bit.ly/4qCJh5q

@elonmusk Speaking of shadiness, my main X account, @DavidLat, has been hacked (this is David, writing from my backup account). I have filled out a ticket, but if you have any recs for how to get my account back faster, I'd welcome them. Thanks!

Even requiring a tiny amount of work for fraudulent payments would have a massive positive effect. That’s how insanely awful the level of fraud actually is!

@nikkidadlani @DavidLat And for the record, I would have gotten the Escalade in black!

@SCOTUSambitions @DavidLat Yet, perhaps you deserve a brand new escalade!

Please note that @DavidLat's Twitter account has been hacked (this is David, tweeting from my other account). I do NOT work in crypto, and I did NOT buy a brand-new Escalade. I am trying to regain control of my account, but it is proving... challenging.

1/ Congratulations To The 2026 Bristow Fellows @Harvard_Law and @StanfordLaw continue to excel at sending their graduates into these prestigious fellowships at the Office of the Solicitor General. LINK: bit.ly/4rib2Sf

This account is no longer active. If you’re interested in #SCOTUS clerk hiring news, please subscribe to Original Jurisdiction. Thanks! Link: davidlat.substack.com

Here’s the latest Supreme Court clerk hiring roundup. Clerk hiring for October Term 2024 is done. So I was able to analyze the incoming #SCOTUS clerk class by law schools, feeder judges, gender. Link: bit.ly/3yu88CN #appellatetwitter #SupremeCourt

I love this so much — the typefaces used by the federal courts of appeals in their opinions (HT Cedric Bond; follow him on LinkedIn, if you don’t already):

Easha Anand: “I don’t necessarily think a former Supreme Court clerk has any necessary advantage over any other advocate walking into the Supreme Court, except in this one way….” (👇) #SCOTUS

ICYMI, here’s the latest #SCOTUS clerk hiring roundup. I believe that OT 2024 hiring is done (even though I’m missing one Alito clerk and two Barrett clerks—if you can help, please reach out). Link: bit.ly/3uOzhPr #appellatetwitter

ICYMI, here’s the latest #SCOTUS clerk hiring roundup. The OT 2023 clerks are based on the Supreme Court’s official list (but the OT 2024 clerks have not been so verified). bit.ly/3YUXcr7 #appellatetwitter

Followers of this account will appreciate today’s #Wordle. Wordle 703 4/6* ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟨🟨⬛ ⬛⬛🟩🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩