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October 04, 2010 ABA Journal Podcast

This Term at the High Court: New Faces, New Controversies & a Dynamic Political Climate

By Richard Brust

On this First Monday of the U.S. Supreme Court 2010-2011 term, ABA Journal editor Richard Brust talks with our guests about the cases, controversies, clerkships and foreseeable changes facing the high court in the coming days and months.

This newly configured court will for the first time feature three women justices, and a younger, Ivy League-educated bench meeting in a dynamic political climate.

Also see this month’s ABA Journal:

Grave Encounters
Al Snyder’s son died a Marine, but his funeral has become a First Amendment issue.

The Immune Response
The Supreme Court may tell families with autistic children whether they can sue vaccine makers.

A Changing Landscape
In first court with three women, all eyes are on Justice Kagan.

Listen to the Podcast

In This Podcast:

Richard Brust
Richard Brust is the assistant managing editor who oversees the ABA Journal’s monthly Supreme Court Report and orchestrates the magazine’s U.S. Supreme Court coverage. Before joining The Lawyer’s Magazine, Rich worked as an editor at publications including the Legal Intelligencer, National Law Journal, and the Morning Call. He holds a J.D. from Temple University School of Law.

Amy Howe is a Supreme Court practitioner with Howe & Russell, based in Bethesda, Md. She has served as counsel in more than two dozen merit cases, including those involving criminal law, the death penalty, the First Amendment and bankruptcy. Howe lectures at the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, and also has co-taught at the Harvard Law School Supreme Court clinic. She also is the editor at the popular SCOTUSblog.

Joseph Thai teaches constitutional law at the University of Oklahoma. Among his classes are those involving Supreme Court decision making, the First Amendment, and criminal procedure. Thai has served as a clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens and to Judge David Ebel of the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A frequent writer on the Supreme Court, Thai is working on a law school textbook on the Supreme Court as well as writings about Justice Stevens. Thai has been the recipient of several awards for outstanding teaching at Oklahoma.

Stephen Wermiel teaches constitutional law at American University’s Washington College of Law. Before coming to American, Wermiel was a reporter for 12 years with the Wall Street Journal, covering the Supreme Court for more than 1,000 cases. Continuing his work as a writer Wermiel is co-author of the recently published ‘Justice Brennan, Liberal Champion,’ a biography of Justice William J. Brennan. Wermiel has also been active in the ABA, most recently serving as editorial board chair of the quarterly magazine, Human Rights, a publication of the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities.