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- The ABA Now URL reads like a single dated post rather than an index page
- Supreme Court litigation is shaped by formal briefing rules
- Online commentary can surround Supreme Court cases without becoming court filings
- Headlines about a justice’s remarks can be easy to misread in a legal context
- Bar associations often take part in public legal education
- Sources
Key Facts
- Federal level: A U.S. Supreme Court case record is governed by formal briefing rules, including restrictions on post-argument filings described in Supreme Court Rule 25.7.
- Federal level: Legal commentary about Supreme Court cases can circulate outside the Court’s briefing rules in what scholars have called “virtual briefing.”
- Federal level: The Cornell Law Review article describing virtual briefing reports that there are nearly twenty blogs largely dedicated to Supreme Court activity.
- Federal level: That same article reports that there are over a dozen podcasts devoted to covering the Supreme Court.
- Federal level: The authors report that publicly available records show current Supreme Court law clerks following Supreme Court commentators on Twitter.
- Federal level: The authors report that Justice Kennedy said he asked his law clerks to read relevant blogs after the Court grants review in a case.
- Federal and state: A dated news post about a justice’s remarks is commonly a report about public speech rather than an official court document.
- Federal and state: Bar association news sites often publish items meant for public understanding, which can differ in purpose from court filings and judicial opinions.
The ABA Now URL reads like a single dated post rather than an index page
The URL provided includes a year and month in its path, which is a common pattern for a standalone news post on a publication-style website.
Even when a headline references a Supreme Court Justice and a topic such as civic education, a post in a bar association publication is typically a report about public remarks rather than a document filed in a court case.
Supreme Court litigation is shaped by formal briefing rules
Supreme Court decision-making uses structured submissions and procedures, and those procedures can limit what materials become part of the official record.
One example described in legal scholarship is Supreme Court Rule 25.7, which the Cornell Law Review authors cite for the proposition that, after a case has been argued or submitted, the Clerk generally does not file additional briefs except by leave of the Court.
Online commentary can surround Supreme Court cases without becoming court filings
Separate from the Court’s rules, public discussion can develop around pending cases through blogs, podcasts, and other media, which scholars have referred to as “virtual briefing.”
The Cornell Law Review article describing this environment reports that Justice Kennedy said he asked his clerks to read relevant blogs after the Court grants review, reflecting that justices and their chambers may pay attention to outside commentary even though it exists outside the formal briefing rules.
Headlines about a justice’s remarks can be easy to misread in a legal context
A headline about a justice’s speech can sound like an official legal development, but it may be closer to public education or professional conversation than to a change in legal rules.
Because the Supreme Court’s case process is structured and its filings are controlled by court rules, outside commentary and reporting can have a different status and function than documents that are accepted into a case record.
Bar associations often take part in public legal education
Organizations connected to the legal profession often publish articles meant to explain legal institutions and support public understanding, including through news-style posts and summaries of public remarks.
In that sense, an ABA-style headline about civic education can be understood as part of a broader public-facing conversation, rather than as a substitute for reading official court materials in a particular case.
