The Supreme Court on Friday afternoon appointed Michael McGinley, a former clerk to Justice Samuel Alito, to argue in defense of a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. This involves two cases pertaining to the First Step Act, a 2018 law that reduced mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug and gun crimes (SCOTUSblog).
The cases in question are Hewitt v. United States and Duffey v. United States, wherein the court granted review on July 2. Although the government agreed with the defendants that the lower court’s interpretation of the First Step Act was incorrect, it urged the Supreme Court to deny both cases, claiming the issues presented were of modest importance and noting legislative efforts likely to resolve the concern.
Despite this, the justices decided to proceed with the cases and appointed McGinley, a partner at Dechert LLP, to defend the 5th Circuit’s decisions. McGinley has a notable background, having served as associate counsel to the president during the Trump administration. This will mark his first Supreme Court argument.
The practice of appointing a lawyer as a “friend of the court” to support the judgment below typically occurs once every term, as documented by law professor Katherine Shaw. Frequently, the selected lawyer is a former clerk for the justice responsible for the circuit from which the case originated.
This article was originally published at Howe on the Court.