Morgan Ratner, a partner in S&C’s Supreme Court and Appellate Practice, spoke to The National Law Journal about the transformation of Supreme Court arguments over the last few Terms. For one thing, hearings are lasting far longer and advocates need to be prepared to answer a wider range of questions.
In addition, the Court recently introduced a “seriatim” format allowing the Justices to ask questions in order of seniority, after an initial free-for-all segment. “I’m a fan of the new argument procedures and the seriatim round,” said Morgan, who was appointed by the Court to argue this Term as amicus counsel in a habeas case, Jones v. Hendrix, and who had previously argued eight other cases before the Supreme Court. “It makes the conversation feel a little more natural and a little less artificially rushed.”
Morgan said the additional time has allowed her to add to the number of key points she intends to emphasize during a Supreme Court argument. Her preparation is otherwise largely the same, but “now I hope a little more of that prep gets used.”
Read “How Advocates Are Adapting to Changing Supreme Court Arguments.”