Cleveland Law Library Weblog

Supreme Court Code of Conduct

On Monday, the United States Supreme Court announced that it has formally adopted a code of conduct for the justices. The court issued a 15-page document that included five canons of conduct on issues such as when justices should recuse themselves and acceptable outside activities. 

"RBG": Documentary About U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Premier May 4th

Last year, our Law Library held a great book discussion about the book My Own Words by United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with Mary Hartnett and Wendy W. Williams. The 'Notorious RBG,' who abovethelaw calls a "flaming feminist litigator," will be starring in a documentary this Spring. The movie titled RBG will air at selected theaters on May 4th this year. Click here to watch the trailer.

Cleveland Law Library Hosting Book Discussion of My Own Words by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Friday, 3/31/17

Our Law Library, the Cleveland Law Library, is hosting a Book Discussion of My Own Words by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg this Friday, 3/31/17. This program is a joint collaboration with the Cleveland Public Library, and the Honorable Cassandra Collier Williams of the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court will serve as the program's Special Guest.. The Book Discussion will be held in the Law Library's Conference Room from 12:30-2:00 p.m. on the 4th floor of the Cuyahoga County Courthouse, 1 West Lakeside Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44113. Click here for the flyer for the program with additional details. 

U.S. Supreme Court Launches Tool in Beta for Searching the Text of Oral Arguments

The United States Supreme Court has just created a new tool in beta for searching the text of oral arguments back to 1950. As of today, users can search the text of 1,431,579 individual statements in 6,709 oral arguments. Users can search by search term, search type (e.g., case name, case number, petitioner, respondent), Court Term (e.g., 2015), or speaker.

Audio recordings and transcripts of recent U.S. Supreme Court cases can be found on the bottom of the page here. Since 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court has archived all audio recordings of oral arguments online here. Same-day full transcripts of oral arguments since the year 2000 are also archived online at the U.S. Supreme Court's web site here. More Court information on oral arguments is available here.

You Now Have to Be a Lawyer to Argue Before the U.S. Supreme Court

The United States Supreme Court has just changed its rules of practice. According to new Rule 28.8, you now have to be a lawyer to argue before the Court. The Rule specifically states that:

"8. Oral arguments may be presented only by members of 
the Bar of this Court. Attorneys who are not members of 
the Bar of this Court may make a motion to argue pro hac
vice under the provisions of Rule 6. "

According to the AP, "[t]he high court says the new rule simply codifies a "long-standing practice of the court."" However, the AP also indicates that a magazine publisher, an entrepreneur and a paralegal-in-training have unsuccessfully tried to argue their cases over the past year.

U.S. Supreme Court Began a New Term Today, October 1, 2012

The United States Supreme Court began a new term today, October 1, 2012. By law, the Court begins a new term with the first Monday in October. The Court's website lists the days the Justices will be hearing oral argument and what cases are scheduled to be heard. Many sites have previewed the cases the Court will hear this term. Check out these few: Cornell's Legal Information Institute & NPR.

U.S. Supreme Court Opens New Term Today

The United States Supreme Court opens its 2011-2012 term today. Several of the major issues the Court will be addressing are the Obama administration's health care law, immigration, and affirmative action. A Chicago Tribune article from today summarizes all of the major cases on the Court's docket.

U.S. Courts Launch Podcast Series on Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Cases

The U.S. Courts website has launched a brand new series of podcasts on landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases. According to the press release, new episodes will air each month and contain discussions by law professors about Supreme Court cases "that have shaped American life." The press release also indicates that "Each episode will explain the case’s background, the key arguments, the decision, and why the case has continuing importance today." The first two podcasts currently available cover Mapp v. Ohio (1961) and Texas v. Johnson (1989).

Local Cleveland Attorney David Mills Wins in U.S. Supreme Court

Congratulations go to local Cleveland attorney David Mills, who just scored a huge win in the U.S. Supreme Court (09-737) in the case of Ortiz v. Jordan, which the Court unanimously decided on January 24, 2011. The Supreme Court's decision reversed the 6th Circuit, which had thrown out a trial court's judgment of $625,000 in favor of Michelle Ortiz on her claim that she was sexually assaulted while in prison.  Allthough the case went to the Supreme Court on a procedural issue, it is a victory for both Mills and his client. According to news reports, Mills is being asked to speak all over the country, and his solo law practice it sure to be booming very soon. In advance of his oral argument, Mills was profiled in the November issue of the ABA journal.

Click here to read the briefs in the case, and click here to listen to the oral arguments in the case.

U.S. Supreme Court Begins New October term Today with 3 Female Justices

Today marks the beginning of the new October term for the United States Supreme Court. Justice Elena Kagan's term begins today, and it will be the first time the Court has empaneled a term with 3 female Justices. Click here for biographies of the current Justices. A good place to find information on the cases the court is currently entertaining is the SCOTUS blog, and CNN recently posted a good summary of some of the big cases the Court is going to review this term.

New U.S. Supreme Court Web Site Has Added Functionality

The U.S. Supreme Court's website has gotten a facelift, along with some new features, including an interactive, color-coded argument calendar on the bottom of the front page and better search capabilities. There is also a new Case Citation Finder and docket files dating back to 2000. According to the Court, the Case Citation Finder: "may be used to retrieve the citation, in the form recommended by the Reporter of Decisions, for every signed, per curiam, or in-chambers opinion published (or soon to be published) in the United States Reports." It allows for Boolean operators (and - or), the use of quotation marks, and sorting by volume number or the name of the petititoner or respondent.