Tom Goldstein
Encyclopedia
Thomas C. Goldstein is an American attorney famous as an advocate before and blogger about the Supreme Court of the United States
. He was a founding partner of Goldstein and Howe, a Washington, D.C.
firm specializing in Supreme Court
litigation, and was, until the end of 2010, a partner at Akin Gump, where he was co-head of the litigation and Supreme Court practices. He has since returned to his previous firm. In 2003, he co-founded SCOTUSblog
, the most widely-read blog covering the Supreme Court, and remains the publisher and occasional contributor, providing analyses and summaries of Supreme Court decisions and cert petitions
. He is a lecturer at Stanford and Harvard Law Schools, teaching Supreme Court Litigation clinics.
from American University
's Washington College of Law
and his A.B. in Political Science
from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
.
1. Cunningham v. Hamilton County, 527 U.S. 198 (1999) (lost 9-0) (represented petitioner, an attorney who argued she had timely appealed a sanctions order).
2. L.A. Police Department v. United Reporting, 528 U.S. 32 (1999) (won 7-2) (represented petitioner, a municipality defending the constitutionality of a state statute against a First Amendment suit).
3. Norfolk Southern v. Shanklin, 529 U.S. 344 (2000) (lost 7-2) (represented respondent, a tort plaintiff alleging that she had the right to sue a railroad for negligence in maintaining a crossing).
4. Egelhoff v. Egelhoff
, 532 U.S. 141 (2001) (lost 7-2) (represented respondents, ERISA plan claimants).
5. Bartnicki v. Vopper
, 532 U.S. 514 (2001) (won 7-2) (represented respondent, a defendant challenging the constitutionality of the application of the federal wiretap laws to him).
6. Devlin v. Scardelietti, 536 U.S. 1 (2002) (won 6-3) (represented petitioner, a class action member alleging that he had the right to appeal a district court order).
7. United States. v. Bean, 537 U.S. 71 (2002) (lost 9-0) (represented respondent, civil plaintiff seeking gun permit).
8. Clay v. United States
, 537 U.S. 552 (2003) (won 9-0) (represented petitioner, a habeas petitioner alleging that he had timely filed a habeas corpus petitioner).
9. Lamie v. U.S. Trustee, 540 U.S. 526 (2004) (lost 9-0) (represented petitioner, a bankruptcy attorney denied fees).
10. Central Laborers’ Pension Fund v. Heinz, 541 U.S. 739 (2003) (lost 9-0) (represented petitioner, a pension fund and ERISA defendant).
11. F. Hoffman-La Roche v. Empagran, 542 U.S. 155 (2004) (lost 9-0) (represented respondents, vitamin manufacturers and antitrust defendants alleging that they had the right to sue over foreign anticompetitive activity).
12. Smith v. City of Jackson, 544 U.S. 228 (2004) (won 5-3) (represented petitioners, age-discrimination plaintiffs alleging the right to pursue “disparate impact” age discrimination claims; although the Court ruled for the plaintiffs on the question presented, it nonetheless held that defendants were entitled to summary judgment on the facts).
13. Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd.
, 545 U.S. 119 (2005) (won 6-3) (represented petitioners, ADA plaintiffs alleging that the statute applies to foreign-flagged cruise ships; the Court did not hold that the ADA applies in all respects, however).
14. National Cable and Telecomm. Ass’n v. Brand X Services, 545 U.S. 967 (2005) (lost 6-3) (represented respondents, telecommunications companies alleging that internet service must be regulated as a “telecommunications service”).
15. IBP, Inc. v. Alvarez, 546 U.S. 21 (2005) (won 9-0) (represented meat-processing employees seeking overtime pay for walking and waiting time under the Fair Labor Standards Act; the Court held that some waiting time was non-compensable, however).
16. Georgia v. Randolph
, 547 U.S. 103 (2005) (won 5-3) (represented respondent criminal defendant alleging that his objection to his wife’s consent to search the family home rendered the warrantless search unconstitutional).
17. KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007) (lost 9-0) (represented respondent patent owner arguing that its invention was “non-obvious").
18. Virginia v. Moore
, 553 U.S. 164 (2008) (lost 9-0) (represented respondent criminal defendant alleging that violation of state law rendered a search unconstitutional).
19. Jimenez v. Quarterman
, 555 U.S. 113 (2009) (won 9-0) (represented petitioner, a habeas petitioner alleging that his habeas petition was timely filed).
20. Cone v. Bell, 129 S. Ct. 1769 (2008) (won 6-3) (represented petitioner, death penalty petitioner alleging that he had not defaulted his federal constitutional claims).
21. Republic of Iraq v. Beaty, 129 S. Ct. 2183 (2009) (lost 9-0) (represented respondents, torture victims and tort plaintiffs alleging that federal legislation did not eliminate their right to sue the government of Iraq).
22. Hamilton v. Lanning, 130 S. Ct. 2464 (2010) (won 8-1) (represented respondent, a bankruptcy debtor challenging the bankruptcy trustee’s calculation of her “projected disposable income”).
23. Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc., 131 S. Ct. 2653 (2011) (won 6-3) (represented respondent, a data mining corporation challenging state’s restriction on use of prescription-history information in pharmaceutical marketing).
24. Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Burlington, (decision pending) (represented petitioner alleging that a suspicionless strip search conducted while in custody following an arrest for a minor offense, violated 4th Amendment rights).
In a 25th case, Goldstein secured a summary reversal (i.e., a victory on the merits without the Court requiring oral argument): Sao Paulo v. American Tobacco, 535 U.S. 229 (2002) (represented petitioner, a plaintiff in a suit brought against tobacco manufacturers alleging that the trial judge was erroneously ordered to recuse himself from the case).
Notably, Goldstein served as second chair for Laurence Tribe
and David Boies
on behalf of Vice President Al Gore
in Bush v. Gore
. He also served as second chair for Laurence Tribe
on New York Times Co. v. Tasini
(decided in 2001).
"The Hustler," an April 2006 article by Noam Scheiber in The New Republic
, asserts that Goldstein has had an out-sized impact on the Supreme Court - going so far as to suggest the Court was the "Goldstein Court", a phraseology usually reserved for the Chief Justice of the United States
during a particular period (e.g. "Roberts Court", "Rehnquist
Court", "Taft
Court") – but there is no empirical data to support that claim.
The article focuses on the practice pioneered by Goldstein of identifying and pursuing cases that are likely to be reviewed by the Supreme Court. At the time, the practice was extremely controversial and analogized to ambulance chasing by established members of the bar, including by now-Chief Justice John Roberts, who quipped about contacting the lawyers in cases that if you needed a heart-surgeon, you would not pick the one who called you out of the blue. The practice has since become commonplace among almost all law firm Supreme Court practices and the several Supreme Court litigation clinics in law schools.
. It serves as a constantly-updated site for information and news about the Supreme Court — the submissions of new petitions, decisions concerning certiorari, decisions concerning stays of lower court decisions — particularly executions, oral arguments, and final decisions in all cases. In 2010, SCOTUSblog became the only weblog to receive the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award for fostering public understanding of the law. While generally regarded as objective, the blog (and Goldstein) on occasion is the subject of criticism from commentators on both the left (such as Glenn Greenwald) and the right (such as Ed Whelan).
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. He was a founding partner of Goldstein and Howe, a Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
firm specializing in Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
litigation, and was, until the end of 2010, a partner at Akin Gump, where he was co-head of the litigation and Supreme Court practices. He has since returned to his previous firm. In 2003, he co-founded SCOTUSblog
SCOTUSblog
SCOTUSblog is a law blog written by lawyers and law students about the Supreme Court of the United States . The blog is sponsored by Bloomberg Law. The blog's first post occurred October 1, 2002. The blog moved to its current address on February 7, 2005. In the same year, it was featured by...
, the most widely-read blog covering the Supreme Court, and remains the publisher and occasional contributor, providing analyses and summaries of Supreme Court decisions and cert petitions
Certiorari
Certiorari is a type of writ seeking judicial review, recognized in U.S., Roman, English, Philippine, and other law. Certiorari is the present passive infinitive of the Latin certiorare...
. He is a lecturer at Stanford and Harvard Law Schools, teaching Supreme Court Litigation clinics.
Education
He earned his J.D.Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
's Washington College of Law
Washington College of Law
American University Washington College of Law is the law school of American University. It is located on Massachusetts Avenue in the Spring Valley neighborhood of northwest Washington. WCL is ranked 50th among law schools by US News and World Report...
and his A.B. in Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
.
Supreme Court practice
Over the past fifteen years, Goldstein has served as one of the lawyers for one of the parties in just under 10% of the cases argued before the Supreme Court. He has argued 24 cases himself. He won 12, lost 11, and one is currently pending. For each the case citation, result, and party represented is as follows:1. Cunningham v. Hamilton County, 527 U.S. 198 (1999) (lost 9-0) (represented petitioner, an attorney who argued she had timely appealed a sanctions order).
2. L.A. Police Department v. United Reporting, 528 U.S. 32 (1999) (won 7-2) (represented petitioner, a municipality defending the constitutionality of a state statute against a First Amendment suit).
3. Norfolk Southern v. Shanklin, 529 U.S. 344 (2000) (lost 7-2) (represented respondent, a tort plaintiff alleging that she had the right to sue a railroad for negligence in maintaining a crossing).
4. Egelhoff v. Egelhoff
Egelhoff v. Egelhoff
Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 532 U.S. 141 , is a major decision of the Supreme Court of the United States on federalism, specifically with regards to the preemption powers of federal law over state laws. It sets the precedent that any state statutes having a "connection with" ERISA plans are superseded by...
, 532 U.S. 141 (2001) (lost 7-2) (represented respondents, ERISA plan claimants).
5. Bartnicki v. Vopper
Bartnicki v. Vopper
Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 U.S. 514 , is a United States Supreme Court case relieving a media defendant of liability for broadcasting a taped conversation of a labor official talking to other union people about a teachers' strike...
, 532 U.S. 514 (2001) (won 7-2) (represented respondent, a defendant challenging the constitutionality of the application of the federal wiretap laws to him).
6. Devlin v. Scardelietti, 536 U.S. 1 (2002) (won 6-3) (represented petitioner, a class action member alleging that he had the right to appeal a district court order).
7. United States. v. Bean, 537 U.S. 71 (2002) (lost 9-0) (represented respondent, civil plaintiff seeking gun permit).
8. Clay v. United States
Clay v. United States
Clay v. United States, , was boxer Muhammad Ali's appeal of his conviction for refusing to report for induction into the United States military forces during the Vietnam War. His local draft board had rejected his application for conscientious objector classification...
, 537 U.S. 552 (2003) (won 9-0) (represented petitioner, a habeas petitioner alleging that he had timely filed a habeas corpus petitioner).
9. Lamie v. U.S. Trustee, 540 U.S. 526 (2004) (lost 9-0) (represented petitioner, a bankruptcy attorney denied fees).
10. Central Laborers’ Pension Fund v. Heinz, 541 U.S. 739 (2003) (lost 9-0) (represented petitioner, a pension fund and ERISA defendant).
11. F. Hoffman-La Roche v. Empagran, 542 U.S. 155 (2004) (lost 9-0) (represented respondents, vitamin manufacturers and antitrust defendants alleging that they had the right to sue over foreign anticompetitive activity).
12. Smith v. City of Jackson, 544 U.S. 228 (2004) (won 5-3) (represented petitioners, age-discrimination plaintiffs alleging the right to pursue “disparate impact” age discrimination claims; although the Court ruled for the plaintiffs on the question presented, it nonetheless held that defendants were entitled to summary judgment on the facts).
13. Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd.
Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd.
Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd., 545 U.S. 119 , was a United States Supreme Court decision that determined that the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to foreign cruise ships in American waters...
, 545 U.S. 119 (2005) (won 6-3) (represented petitioners, ADA plaintiffs alleging that the statute applies to foreign-flagged cruise ships; the Court did not hold that the ADA applies in all respects, however).
14. National Cable and Telecomm. Ass’n v. Brand X Services, 545 U.S. 967 (2005) (lost 6-3) (represented respondents, telecommunications companies alleging that internet service must be regulated as a “telecommunications service”).
15. IBP, Inc. v. Alvarez, 546 U.S. 21 (2005) (won 9-0) (represented meat-processing employees seeking overtime pay for walking and waiting time under the Fair Labor Standards Act; the Court held that some waiting time was non-compensable, however).
16. Georgia v. Randolph
Georgia v. Randolph
Georgia v. Randolph, 547 U.S. 103 , is a case wherein the U.S. Supreme Court held that without a search warrant, police had no constitutional right to search a house where one resident consents to the search while another resident objects. The Court distinguished this case from the "co-occupant...
, 547 U.S. 103 (2005) (won 5-3) (represented respondent criminal defendant alleging that his objection to his wife’s consent to search the family home rendered the warrantless search unconstitutional).
17. KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007) (lost 9-0) (represented respondent patent owner arguing that its invention was “non-obvious").
18. Virginia v. Moore
Virginia v. Moore
Virginia v. Moore, 553 U.S. 164 is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that addresses the use of evidence obtained by police in a search incident to an arrest which violates state law.-Background:...
, 553 U.S. 164 (2008) (lost 9-0) (represented respondent criminal defendant alleging that violation of state law rendered a search unconstitutional).
19. Jimenez v. Quarterman
Jimenez v. Quarterman
Jimenez v. Quarterman, 555 U.S. ___ , was a decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that under , the conviction of a state defendant is not "final" if a state court grants an "out-of-time" appeal and the defendant has not yet filed a federal habeas petition.-Background:Carlos...
, 555 U.S. 113 (2009) (won 9-0) (represented petitioner, a habeas petitioner alleging that his habeas petition was timely filed).
20. Cone v. Bell, 129 S. Ct. 1769 (2008) (won 6-3) (represented petitioner, death penalty petitioner alleging that he had not defaulted his federal constitutional claims).
21. Republic of Iraq v. Beaty, 129 S. Ct. 2183 (2009) (lost 9-0) (represented respondents, torture victims and tort plaintiffs alleging that federal legislation did not eliminate their right to sue the government of Iraq).
22. Hamilton v. Lanning, 130 S. Ct. 2464 (2010) (won 8-1) (represented respondent, a bankruptcy debtor challenging the bankruptcy trustee’s calculation of her “projected disposable income”).
23. Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc., 131 S. Ct. 2653 (2011) (won 6-3) (represented respondent, a data mining corporation challenging state’s restriction on use of prescription-history information in pharmaceutical marketing).
24. Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Burlington, (decision pending) (represented petitioner alleging that a suspicionless strip search conducted while in custody following an arrest for a minor offense, violated 4th Amendment rights).
In a 25th case, Goldstein secured a summary reversal (i.e., a victory on the merits without the Court requiring oral argument): Sao Paulo v. American Tobacco, 535 U.S. 229 (2002) (represented petitioner, a plaintiff in a suit brought against tobacco manufacturers alleging that the trial judge was erroneously ordered to recuse himself from the case).
Notably, Goldstein served as second chair for Laurence Tribe
Laurence Tribe
Laurence Henry Tribe is a professor of constitutional law at Harvard Law School and the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University. He also works with the firm Massey & Gail LLP on a variety of matters....
and David Boies
David Boies
David Boies is an American lawyer and chairman of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner. He has been involved in various high-profile cases in the United States.-Early life and education:...
on behalf of Vice President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
in Bush v. Gore
Bush v. Gore
Bush v. Gore, , is the landmark United States Supreme Court decision on December 12, 2000, that effectively resolved the 2000 presidential election in favor of George W. Bush. Only eight days earlier, the United States Supreme Court had unanimously decided the closely related case of Bush v...
. He also served as second chair for Laurence Tribe
Laurence Tribe
Laurence Henry Tribe is a professor of constitutional law at Harvard Law School and the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University. He also works with the firm Massey & Gail LLP on a variety of matters....
on New York Times Co. v. Tasini
New York Times Co. v. Tasini
New York Times Co. v. Tasini, 533 U.S. 483 , is a leading decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of copyright in the contents of a newspaper database...
(decided in 2001).
"The Hustler," an April 2006 article by Noam Scheiber in The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, asserts that Goldstein has had an out-sized impact on the Supreme Court - going so far as to suggest the Court was the "Goldstein Court", a phraseology usually reserved for the Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
during a particular period (e.g. "Roberts Court", "Rehnquist
William Rehnquist
William Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States...
Court", "Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
Court") – but there is no empirical data to support that claim.
The article focuses on the practice pioneered by Goldstein of identifying and pursuing cases that are likely to be reviewed by the Supreme Court. At the time, the practice was extremely controversial and analogized to ambulance chasing by established members of the bar, including by now-Chief Justice John Roberts, who quipped about contacting the lawyers in cases that if you needed a heart-surgeon, you would not pick the one who called you out of the blue. The practice has since become commonplace among almost all law firm Supreme Court practices and the several Supreme Court litigation clinics in law schools.
Teaching appointments
Goldstein is a visiting lecturer of both the Stanford and Harvard law schools, co-teaching Supreme Court litigation clinics.Blog
Goldstein founded the most widely read blog covering the Supreme Court, the SCOTUSblogSCOTUSblog
SCOTUSblog is a law blog written by lawyers and law students about the Supreme Court of the United States . The blog is sponsored by Bloomberg Law. The blog's first post occurred October 1, 2002. The blog moved to its current address on February 7, 2005. In the same year, it was featured by...
. It serves as a constantly-updated site for information and news about the Supreme Court — the submissions of new petitions, decisions concerning certiorari, decisions concerning stays of lower court decisions — particularly executions, oral arguments, and final decisions in all cases. In 2010, SCOTUSblog became the only weblog to receive the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award for fostering public understanding of the law. While generally regarded as objective, the blog (and Goldstein) on occasion is the subject of criticism from commentators on both the left (such as Glenn Greenwald) and the right (such as Ed Whelan).
Media and professional recognition
Among Goldstein’s recognitions are: one of the 100 most influential lawyers in the nation (National Law Journal); one of the 40 most influential lawyers of the decade (National Law Journal); and one of the 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years (Legal Times).Personal life, hobbies
Goldstein is married to Amy Howe, with whom he co-founded the firm now named Goldstein & Russell, P.C. Goldstein lives in Washington, D.C.External links
- Golstein previews the 2008 Supreme Court docket in the Harvard Law RecordHarvard Law RecordThe Harvard Law Record is an independent, biweekly student-edited newspaper based at Harvard Law School. Founded in 1946, it is the oldest law school newspaper in the United States.-Characteristics:...