Washington, D.C. — The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) has announced the winners of the 2019 Supreme Court Best Brief Awards. The Best Brief Awards honor the appellate practitioners from state attorneys general offices who have exhibited superb work in representing their states before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Thirty-seven briefs were submitted for consideration this year. A panel of 10 independent Supreme Court experts, each of whom is a leading member of the Supreme Court bar, reviewed all submissions and selected three winners.
The 2019 Best Brief Award winners are:
Missouri: Missouri’s Brief of Respondents in Bucklew v. Precythe, No. 17-815. The authors were State Solicitor D. John Sauer, Deputy Solicitors Joshua M. Divine, Julie Marie Blake, and Peter T. Reed, and Assistant Attorney General Michael Joseph Spillane.
New York: New York’s Brief for Government Respondents in Department of Commerce v. New York, No. 18-966. The authors were Solicitor General Barbara D. Underwood, Deputy Solicitor General Steven C. Wu, Senior Assistant Solicitor General Judith N. Vale, Assistant Solicitor General Scott A. Eisman, Chief Counsel for Federal Initiatives Matthew Colangelo, and Acting Chief for Civil Rights Bureau Elena Goldstein.
Virginia: Virginia’s Brief of State Appellees in Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill, No. 18-281. The authors were Solicitor General Toby J. Heytens, Principal Deputy Solicitor General Matthew R. McGuire, Deputy Solicitor General Michelle S. Kallen, and Brittany M. Jones.
“State attorneys general offices handle more U.S. Supreme Court cases than anyone else in the legal community outside of the federal government,” said Dan Schweitzer, chief counsel of the NAAG Center for Supreme Court Advocacy. “Congratulations to this year’s winners for their exemplary work in representing their states in the Supreme Court.”
Winners will be honored at a reception during the NAAG State Solicitors General and Appellate Chiefs Conference, July 11-12, 2019 | Washington, D.C.
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