Tom Goldstein

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Thomas C. Goldstein (Tom Goldstein) was a founding partner of Goldstein and Howe,^[1] a Washington, D.C. firm specializing in Supreme Court litigation. He co-founded one of the most widely-read blogs covering the Supreme Court, the Scotusblog, and continues to be a contributing editor, providing analyses and summaries of Supreme Court decisions and Certiorari petitions. He is also on the faculty of Stanford and Harvard Law Schools where he teaches courses on Supreme Court litigation.

1 Education
2 Supreme Court practice
3 Teaching appointments
4 Law firm
5 Blog
6 Media and professional recognition
7 Personal life, hobbies
8 References

[edit] Education

He earned his J.D. from American University's Washington College of Law and his A.B. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

[edit] Supreme Court practice

Goldstein has argued 18 cases before the Supreme Court.

In the 2007-2008 term, he argued "Virginia v. Moore", a case on 4th amendment search and seizure law, in which he defended Moore, arguing that state law should be considered in deciding 4th Amendment applicability. The court decided in favor of Virginia, in a 9-0 decision.

In the 2006-2007 term, he argued KSR v. Teleflex, concerning the issue of "patent obviousness" in Intellectual Property law. Goldstein represented the respondent, Teleflex; the case was decided, in a 7-1 decision, in favor of the Petitioner, KSR (Roberts recused himself).

In the 2005-2006 term, he successfully argued Georgia v. Randolph, an important search and seizure case, in which his side was not favored to be victorious. Also in the 2005-2006 term, he argued Tum v. Barber Foods, which his side won unanimously.

In the 2004-2005 term he was successful in arguing Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd. and Smith v. City of Jackson.

Notably, he 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).

According to an April 2006 article in The New Republic,^[2] Goldstein has had an out-sized impact on the Supreme Court. The article went 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"). While hyperbole, the article took note of the significant number of cases Goldstein has been able to bring before the Court. Goldstein's style is to survey Circuit cases for notable splits, and to bring these cases to the attention of the Supreme Court even if the clients are of limited means. While the concept of looking for splits between Circuit courts did not originate with Goldstein, he seems to have honed a gift for choosing those cases that the Court will agree to hear. The net effect is that the Court has been confronted with a set of issues that it may not have otherwise heard, thus giving some plausibility to the claim that Goldstein has had a significant effect on recent shifts in United States jurisprudence.

Goldstein is counsel to the District of Columbia in District of Columbia v. Heller which argues that the District's Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 is not implicated by the Second Amendment.^[3]

[edit] Teaching appointments

Goldstein is on the faculty of both the Stanford^[4] and Harvard law schools.^[5] At Stanford, he teaches a Supreme Court litigation clinic. At Harvard, he co-teaches a course in Supreme Court Litigation with Laurence Tribe and Amy Howe.

[edit] Law firm

In 2006, he joined the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, as a partner.

[edit] Blog

Goldstein co-founded one of the most widely read blogs covering the Supreme Court, the Scotusblog.^[6] 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.

[edit] Media and professional recognition

Goldstein was named one of the nation's leading attorneys under the age of 40 by the National Law Journal. American Lawyer cited him as one of the top 45 attorneys under 45, and he was labeled one of the leading appellate lawyers in Washington, D.C. by Legal Times. Furthermore, Washingtonian named him one of the "six attorneys to watch in the 21st century".

[edit] Personal life, hobbies

Goldstein is married to Amy Howe, with whom he co-founded Goldstein & Howe, P.C. After Goldstein became a partner at Akin Gump, Howe reorganized the former firm as Howe & Russell, P.C. Goldstein lives in Washington, D.C.

As for hobbies, he enjoys playing poker.^{[citation needed]}