4 U.S. Supreme Court Practice: February 14, 2022 4 U.S. Supreme Court Practice: February 14, 2022
Other than our federal government, state government is by far the most frequent litigant in the U.S. Supreme Court. This chapter will study the practice of state attorneys general before the United States Supreme Court, including the role played by Attorneys General submitting amici curiae briefs, and analyze the statistics of state involvement.
This chapter also discusses how attorneys general have centralized their appearances in appellate matters by creating within their offices the position of State Solicitor General. The creation of state solicitor general positions is an organizational decision by each attorney general and is designed to assure both quality and consistency in appellate presentation before federal and state appellate courts. The increased prominence of state solicitors general in no way changes the fact that it is the attorney general who ultimately makes the decisions that are argued by the SG.
4.1. Guest Speaker - Dan Schweitzer, '89, NAAG Supreme Court Counsel
4.2. The Evolving Role of State Solicitor General, James Layton, Journal of Appellate Practice and Process, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Fall 2001)
The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Fall 2001)
Links:
4.3. Top 10 Reasons to have a state Solicitor General, Dan Schweitzer, Director of the National Association of Attorneys General's Center for Supreme Court Advocacy.
4.4. Results of Cert Petitions on Filed by States, NAAG (2020)
A key element of our federal system of government is the ability state government to broadly advocate within the judiciary on a broad swath of consitutional issues. . While state governments appear in both federal and state court on a daily basis, it is the appearance of state government before the United States Supreme Court that often makes the greatest impact.
These statistics make clear fact that states are more likely to appear more often than any entity other that the federal government itself.
4.5. State AG Supreme Court Amicus Statistics (2022), Dan Schweitzer, NAAG Supreme Court Counsel
4.6. Where are they now? The Promise and Peril of being a Former SG : "Former State SG's and Other State AG Attorneys Who Are Active Judges," Dan Schweitzer, NAAG Supreme.Ct Counsel, 2022
4.7. Kevin C. Newsom, The State Solicitor General Boom, 32 Appellate Practice J. 6 (2013)
Kevin C. Newsom, The State Solicitor General Boom, 32 Appellate Practice J. 6 (2013) (Links to an external site.)
Links:
4.8. Who Argues for the States in the U.S. Supreme Court? NAAG Supreme Court Counsel Dan Schweitzer, (2017)
Dan Schweitzer, Who Argues for the States in the U.S. Supreme Court (2017) (Links to an external site.)
4.9. The journey from Wisconsin to Texas and take down the ACA - Houston Chronicle (Jan 11, 2019)
Houston Chronicle, Jan. 11, 2019
Links:
- Original: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/medical/article/The-journey-from-Wisconsin-to-Texas-and-the-13526736.php
- Archival: https://perma.cc/A5YT-B36V
4.10. Roper v. Simmons Amicus.pdf - State of Alabama - 543 U.S. 551 (2005) (Al. SG Kevin Newsom)
4.11. Roper v. Simmons (2005) (edited).pdf - 543 U.S. 551 - 2005
Roper v. Simmons
Links:
- Original: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/04pdf/03-633.pdf
- Archival: https://perma.cc/53MS-5ERK