Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
Orin S. Kerr is a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, where he teaches and writes in the areas of criminal procedure and computer crime law. Kerr earned mechanical engineering degrees from Princeton University and Stanford University before graduating with a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a former law clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy at the United States Supreme Court and Judge Leonard I. Garth of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Partner, Arnold & Porter
John Elwood is the head of Arnold & Porter’s Appellate and Supreme Court practice. He has argued before the Supreme Court nine times, and appeared before most of the federal courts of appeals. He has successfully argued cases across a broad cross-section of subjects, with particular experience in environmental law, the False Claims Act, government contracting, and federal criminal law
Mr. Elwood’s work has earned him recognition as one of Washington’s top Supreme Court lawyers (Washingtonian, 2013), as one of “a small group of lawyers” with an “outsized influence at the U.S. Supreme Court” (Reuters, 2014), and as one of the country’s most innovative lawyers (Financial Times, 2014). Chambers USA reports that “[t]he much-admired John Elwood is praised for his advocacy skills” (2013), and describes Mr. Elwood as “phenomenal” (2014), “incredibly talented” (2012), and “a much-loved and widely respected lawyer who is quick on his feet” (2010).
Before joining the firm, Mr. Elwood served in senior-level positions in the U.S. Department of Justice. Beginning as an Assistant to the Solicitor General, and continuing with the firm, he has briefed more than 20 merits cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, and has briefed approximately 135 cases at the certiorari stage. As the senior Deputy in the Office of Legal Counsel, he advised the White House and federal agencies on a range of constitutional, statutory, and regulatory issues.
Associate, Targowski & Grow, PLLC
A graduate of Seton Hall Law, Shyler Engel is an associate at Targowski & Grow, PLLC, a criminal defense firm in Kalamazoo, Michigan, specializing in state and federal drug charges, with an emphasis on the recently-enacted Michigan Medical Marihuana Act.
Solicitor, U.S. Department of Labor
Jonathan Berry is Solicitor at the U.S. Department of Labor, in service to President Trump’s agenda to put American workers first. He leads the Department’s lawyers in advising the Secretary and agency leadership on all aspects of law and in representing the Department in court. He was previously managing partner at Boyden Gray PLLC, where he provided strategic counsel and litigated on issues at the intersection of law, politics, and public policy. Earlier, he headed the regulatory office at Labor, and also served at the Department of Justice, in the first Trump Administration. Mr. Berry served as a law clerk to Judge Jerry E. Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and to Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Director of Policy Studies & Senior Fellow, The Free State Foundation
Seth L. Cooper is Director of Policy Studies & Senior Fellow at The Free State Foundation. His work on federal communications and technology policy at the Free State Foundation began in 2009.
With Randolph May, Mr. Cooper is the co-author of Modernizing Copyright Law for the Digital Age: Constitutional Foundations for Reform (2020) and Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property: A Natural Rights Perspective (2015), both published by Carolina Academic Press. Along with Mr. May, Mr. Cooper also co-authored A Reader on Net Neutrality and Restoring Internet Freedom (2018) and #CommActUpdate: A Communications Law Fit for the Digital Age (2017), both published by Free State Foundation Press. He previously contributed to two chapters in Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age (2012), published by Carolina Academic Press. Mr. Cooper's work has also appeared in such publications as CommLaw Conspectus, the San Jose Mercury News, Forbes.com, the Des Moines Register, the Baltimore Sun, the Washington Examiner, and the Washington Times.
Mr. Cooper previously served as Director to the Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Mr. Cooper served as judicial clerk to the Honorable James Johnson at the Washington State Supreme Court. His co-writings about the Washington Supreme Court have appeared in the Gonzaga Law Review and in Federalist Society publications. He has worked in law and policy staff positions at the Washington State Senate and at the Discovery Institute's Center for Science & Culture. Mr. Cooper is a 2009 Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute. He also has worked in private practice in the State of Washington, handling civil legal matters involving personal injuries, small business, contracts, and wills, trusts, and estates.
Mr. Cooper earned his B.A. degree in Political Science from Pacific Lutheran University and received his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law.
Megan T.R. Hitchens is an attorney in Charlotte, N.C. She is a graduate of Elon University School of Law.
Judge, Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal
In April 2023, Judge Jordan E. Pratt was commissioned as a member of the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal following his appointment by Governor Ron DeSantis.
Before joining the court, Judge Pratt worked as senior counsel at First Liberty Institute and served in various roles in state and federal government: as senior counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice, deputy general counsel in the U.S. Small Business Administration, and deputy solicitor general in the Florida Office of the Attorney General. As a deputy solicitor general, he defended significant Florida legislation and executive actions at every level of the state and federal court systems, with successful arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the Florida Supreme Court, and Florida’s First District Court of Appeal.
Judge Pratt graduated as a co-valedictorian of his undergraduate class at the University of Florida. He then received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Florida College of Law, where he was a law review editor and president of the school’s Federalist Society and Christian Legal Society chapters. During law school, he interned for the Hon. Jeffrey S. Sutton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
After his graduation from law school, Judge Pratt served as a law clerk to the Hon. Harvey E. Schlesinger on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division. He then clerked for the Hon. Jennifer W. Elrod on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Judge Pratt has held several fellowships, including an Olin–Searle Fellowship at Florida State University’s College of Law, and has published scholarship in the Tennessee Law Review, the Nebraska Law Review, and the Mississippi Law Journal. He is a member of the Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy Studies, and he has held several leadership roles in the organization, including service as president of its Tallahassee Lawyers Chapter from 2016 to 2019.
Associate, Latham & Watkins
Jonathan Ellis is an associate in the Supreme Court & Appellate Practice in the Washington, D.C. office of Latham & Watkins. His practice focuses on appellate litigation, as well as strategic analysis and briefing in high-stakes district court litigation. Mr. Ellis’ experience includes drafting appellate briefs, dispositive motions, and other pleadings in federal and state courts and administrative agencies, as well as presenting argument in federal court.
Prior to joining Latham, Mr. Ellis served as a law clerk to Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. of the United States Supreme Court and Judge A. Raymond Randolph of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He also served as a Bristow Fellow in the Office of the Solicitor General of the United States, where he worked on numerous Supreme Court cases and successfully briefed and argued an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
United States v. Jones - Post-Argument SCOTUSCast
Orin S. Kerr
SCOTUScast 11-21-11 featuring Orin Kerr
On November 8, 2011, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in United States v. Jones. This...
M.B.Z. v. Clinton - Post-Argument SCOTUScast
John P. Elwood
SCOTUScast 11-18-11 featuring John Elwood
On November 7, 2011 the Supreme Court heard oral argument in M.B.Z. v. Clinton. This case...
New Jersey Demands More from Eyewitnesses: State v. Henderson
Shyler Engel
State Court Docket Watch Fall 2011
On November 2, 2011, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments in Perry...
Duties to the Unborn: Alabama Supreme Court Deems Viability Irrelevant to Fetal Wrongful-Death Actions
Jonathan Berry
State Court Docket Watch Fall 2011
April Mack sued to recover for the wrongful death of her unborn child, who miscarried...
Washington Supreme Court Rules on Attorney General's Discretion to Enter Litigation in Two Landmark Cases
Seth L. Cooper
State Court Docket Watch Fall 2011
The Washington Supreme Court in September issued two of its most highly-anticipated rulings in recent...
Nebraska High Court Applies Common Law Doctrine of In Loco Parentis to Confer Standing on Former Same-Sex Domestic Partner in Child Custody Dispute
Megan T.R Hitchens
State Court Docket Watch Fall 2011
With the use of surrogates, in-vitro fertilization, adoption, and egg and sperm donation, same-sex couples...
Arkansas Supreme Court Strikes Down Ban on Adoption by Unmarried Cohabitating Couples
Jordan E. Pratt
State Court Docket Watch Fall 2011
In a unanimous opinion handed down on April 7, 2011, the Arkansas Supreme Court invalidated—on...
North Carolina Appellate Court Decides when Municipality May Be Held Liable in Public Park Case
Jonathan Y. Ellis
State Court Docket Watch Fall 2011
In June 2007, seventeen-year-old Eric Williams died tragically at a public park in Elizabeth City,...
New York State's Highest Court Reverses Major Tort Award in World Trade Center Bombing Litigation
Craig Mausler
State Court Docket Watch Fall 2011
On September 22, 2011, the New York State Court of Appeals issued a decision reversing...
State Court Docket Watch Fall 2011
In an effort to increase dialogue about state court jurisprudence, the Federalist Society presents State...