Oct. 12, 2009
Supreme Court Lecture Series to Feature Legal Journalist
A journalist who has covered the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years will be the featured speaker Oct. 27 at the Supreme Court of Ohio second Forum on the Law lecture series.
Tony Mauro, Supreme Court correspondent for the National Law Journal, American Lawyer Media, and law.com, will share his observations and insights about the recent confirmation of Justice Sonia Sotomayor. It is an axiom that is often repeated by Supreme Court justices: When even one new justice joins the Court, the entire Court is transformed. Mr. Mauro will offer an inside report on the new Supreme Court, its newest member and on the issues she and the Court will face this term. Mr. Mauro covered Justice Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing and will describe the process that led to her confirmation.
The Columbus Bar Foundation and Capital University Law School are co-sponsors of the program.
Mr. Mauro has covered the Supreme Court since 1979, first for Gannett News Service and USA TODAY and then, since January 2000, for Legal Times, which merged with its sibling publication the National Law Journal in 2009. He is also a legal correspondent for the First Amendment Center.
He is the author of Illustrated Great Decisions of the Supreme Court, published in its second edition in December 2005 by Congressional Quarterly Press. He also has written several law review articles and contributed chapters to several books. The most recent is A Good Quarrel: America’s Top Legal Reporters Share Stories from Inside the Supreme Court, published in April 2009 by the University of Michigan Press.
Washingtonian magazine included Mr. Mauro in its list of the top 50 journalists in Washington in 2001 and 2005. He serves on the executive committee of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the advisory board of the World Press Freedom Committee. He is also on the advisory board for Georgetown University Law Center’s Master of Studies in Law program for journalists.
Mr. Mauro received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Rutgers University, and a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
The Forum on the Law lecture series brings together the legal and judicial communities to explore topics of interest. In April, Professor Linda Przybyszewski recounted the 1873 “Bible War” case that helped frame the national debate about church/state relations well into the 20th Century during the court’s first legal forum. The event, which drew an audience of almost 200, was co-hosted by the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society.
“It is our hope that this ongoing lecture series will further engage the public and enhance an appreciation for our legal system,” said Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer. “While the first event centered on a historic legal topic, Mr. Mauro’s session will achieve another objective by also focusing on contemporary issues.”
The event will begin at 6 p.m. in the Courtroom, include a question-and-answer session and conclude an hour later. The event will also be streamed live on the Supreme Court Web site.
The lecture and reception are open to the public, but reservations are required. To reserve your seat, R.S.V.P. to events@sc.ohio.gov or 614.387.9267 by Oct. 21.
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow at 614.387.9250.