Week 9
U.S. Supreme Court Practice
Syllabus: The Role of the State Attorney General
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.
Note: Links to the readings below open in this window/tab in H20 Casebook. Use your browser’s “back” button to return to the syllabus.
- Speaker - Dan Schweitzer, '89, NAAG Supreme Court Counsel
- The Evolving Role of State Solicitor General, Layton
- Top 10 Reasons to have a SG, Dan Schweitzer
- Results of Cert Petitions on Filed by States, NAAG (2020)
- State AG Supreme Court Amicus Statistics (2020), Dan Schweitzer, NAAG Supreme Court Counsel
- 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, September 1, 2020
- Kevin C. Newsom, The State Solicitor General Boom, 32 Appellate Practice J. 6 (2013)
- NAAG Supreme Court Counsel Dan Schweitzer, Who Argues for the States in the U.S. Supreme Court (2017)
- The journey from Wisconsin to Texas and take down the ACA - Houston Chronicle - Jan 11, 2019
- Roper v. Simmons Amicus.pdf - State of Alabama - 543 U.S. 551 (2005) - (2004) (Kevin Newsom)
- Roper v. Simmons (2005) (edited).pdf - 543 U.S. 551 - 2005
- TX-Respondent-Medellin v Dretke.pdf - (Winner of NAAG Best Brief Award in 2005 - Ted Cruz - ) (supplemental reading).