WHAT WE'RE READING

The morning read for Friday, Feb. 21

The court expects to issue one or more opinions this morning. Join us for live coverage at 9:45 a.m. EST.

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Friday morning read:

• Kirkland Partner Tapped for Supreme Court Debut in Criminal Case (Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson, Bloomberg Law)
• Appeals court deals setback to Trump efforts to immediately end birthright citizenship (Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein, Politico)
• US Supreme Court tackles straight woman’s ‘reverse’ discrimination case (Andrew Chung, Reuters) 
• FTC Chair praises Justice Thomas as ‘the most important judge of the last 100 years’ for Black History Month (Lauren Feiner, The Verge)
• Trump Should Win at Supreme Court — If His Provocations Haven’t Spooked the Justices (Andrew McCarthy, The National Review)

SCOTUS NEWS

Court appoints former clerk to argue in post-conviction relief case

The Supreme Court on Thursday appointed a former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas to argue in a case involving the application of the federal laws governing post-conviction relief for federal prisoners. In a brief order, the justices appointed Kasdin Mitchell, a partner in the Dallas office of Kirkland & Ellis, to defend the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Bowe v. United States, which will likely be argued in April.

In its brief opposing review, the federal government agreed with Michael Bowe, who was convicted of attempted robbery and discharging a gun during a crime of violence, that the court of appeals was wrong on one question presented by his petition for review, when it held that a provision of federal post-conviction law required the dismissal of his motion for post-conviction relief. But the federal government insisted that the Supreme Court nonetheless lacked the power to review Bowe’s case.

Because the federal government was no longer defending part of the 11th Circuit’s ruling, the justices tapped Mitchell to do so instead. The practice of appointing an outside attorney is not an uncommon one; normally, the justices do so once or twice per term. But Mitchell is the sixth outside attorney that the justices have appointed during the current term.

WHAT WE'RE READING

The morning read for Thursday, Feb. 20

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Thursday morning read:

• Trump Tests His Sway at Supreme Court in Push to Oust Official (Greg Stohr, Bloomberg)
• Missouri Clinics Resume Abortions, Following Abortion Rights Referendum (Kate Zernike, The New York Times)
• Corporate Transparency Act Block Lifted After SCOTUS Ruling (John Woolley, Bloomberg Law)
• Parents Lose Appeal Over School’s Gender Identity Notification Policy (Mark Walsh, Education Week)
• Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor inspires Miami students to protect democracy and drive change (Daniella Krasney, The Miami Hurricane)

Coming up: On Friday, Feb. 21, the court expects to issue one or more opinions from the current term. We’ll be live at 9:45 a.m. EDT.

WHAT WE'RE READING

The morning read for Wednesday, Feb. 19

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Wednesday morning read:

• Trump’s lawyers ask Supreme Court to fast-track approval of agency officials’ firings (David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times)
• The Supreme Court gave Trump immunity. He’s using it as a blank check. (Joan Biskupic, CNN)
• The Supreme Court has helped presidential power expand. Trump may test its limits. (Henry Gass, The Christian Science Monitor) 
• President Trump’s Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship is Unconstitutional (Steven Calabresi, The Volokh Conspiracy) 
• The Supreme Court can fix this mess of its own making (George F. Will, The Washington Post)

Coming up: On Friday, Feb. 21, the court expects to issue one or more opinions from the current term. We’ll be live at 9:45 a.m. EDT.

WHAT WE'RE READING

The morning read for Tuesday, Feb. 18

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Tuesday morning read:

• Trump administration turns to US Supreme Court in bid to fire agency head (Andrew Chung, Reuters)
• First Test of Trump’s Power to Fire Officials Reaches Supreme Court (Adam Liptak, The New York Times)
• Is Elon Musk’s government role unconstitutional? What the Supreme Court might say. (Devin Dwyer, ABC News)
• Trump Uses Supreme Court Immunity Ruling to Claim “Unrestricted Power” (Hafiz Rashid, The New Republic) 
• Student asks Supreme Court to say he can wear T-shirt saying ‘There are only two genders’ (Maureen Groppe, USA Today)