Tony Mauro

Tony Mauro is Supreme Court correspondent for National Law Journal, ALM Media, and law.com. He has covered the Supreme Court since 1979, first for Gannett News Service and USA Today and then, since January 2000, for Legal Times, which merged with its sibling publication the National Law Journal in 2009. Mauro is also a legal correspondent for the First Amendment Center.

Mauro received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Rutgers University, and a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

In March 2001 and November 2005, Washingtonian magazine included Mauro on its list of the top 50 journalists in Washington. He is the author of Illustrated Great Decisions of the Supreme Court, published in its second edition in December 2005 by Congressional Quarterly Press. He also has written several law review articles and contributed chapters to several books. The most recent is A Good Quarrel: America's Top Legal Reporters Share Stories from Inside the Supreme Court, published in April 2009 by the University of Michigan Press.

During his more than 30 years of covering the Supreme Court, Mauro has been an active and devoted advocate for freedom of the press and freedom of information. He has written numerous stories, op-ed columns, journal articles and book chapters aimed at promoting camera and broadcast access to the courts. He also has spoken out in favor of shield laws and other protections for the public right to know.

Mauro has long encouraged fellow journalists to support openness and freedom of the press. If journalists don’t press the case for access and press freedom, he says, no one else will. In 1990, columnist Nat Hentoff wrote, "Of all Supreme Court reporters, Tony Mauro has been the most determined to persuade the justices to let television cameras in for oral arguments." Hentoff reiterated his praise in a column 20 years later.

Mauro is past chair of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and has served on its steering committee since 1982. He was Freedom of Information chair of the Society of Professional Journalists in the 1980s and edited its annual FOI report, which then was a stand-alone publication. He received the society’s First Amendment Award in 1986. Mauro also serves on the advisory board of the World Press Freedom Committee, and is a former chair of the Freedom of Information committee of the National Press Club. He is also on the advisory board for Georgetown University Law Center’s Master of Studies in Law program for journalists.

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.

Posts by Tony Mauro:

Featured Posts, First Amendment Analysis | Tony Mauro

Judges’ complaint to news media: It doesn’t matter who appointed us

To a federal judges’ way of thinking, their having been appointed by a Democratic or Republican president is completely irrelevant to how they will decide cases.

Press Analysis | Tony Mauro

Will Osama bin Laden death photos ever appear?

Outlook for release of photos, video is uncertain in the federal courts, where precedents exist for and against release of sensitive pictures.

Speech Analysis, Supreme Court Case | Tony Mauro

Court unlikely to extend speech protection to lawmakers’ votes

But justices may decide that challenged provision in Nevada ethics law is too intrusive and vague.

Speech Analysis, Supreme Court Case | Tony Mauro

High court wary of Vt. limits on Rx data mining

Most justices appeared during oral arguments to view law as unconstitutional effort by state to manipulate the marketplace of ideas for its own purposes.

Religion Analysis | Tony Mauro

Inmates lose a remedy for religion-rights violations

Supreme Court ruling in Sossamon against lawsuits for money damages under RLUIPA, critics say, means states can avoid court scrutiny.

Speech | Tony Mauro

Court seems to frown on Ariz. campaign regulation

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed ready yesterday to continue its work of dismantling campaign-finance laws in the name of the First Amendment, this time targeting an Arizona public-financing law that helps candidates who face rich opponents.
The Citizens Clean Election Act, passed in an Arizona ballot initiative in 1998 after a series of political scandals, [...]

Petition | Tony Mauro

Court delves into history in rare petition case

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court yesterday was treated to an hourlong tour of the history of the rarely invoked petition clause of the First Amendment. By the end of the hour, however, it did not appear the Court was ready to breathe new life into the hoary right of the people to “petition the government [...]

Freedom Of Information Analysis | Tony Mauro

Justices again rein in exemption to FOIA

WASHINGTON — March 2011 is turning out to be a very good month for advocates of maximum disclosure of government documents under the Freedom of Information Act.
Less than a week after an important victory limiting one of the law’s exemptions in FCC v. AT&T, the Court yesterday handed down an even more significant decision narrowing [...]

State Of The First Amendment Report | Tony Mauro

Despite high profile, few First Amendment disputes settled by high court

Freedom of speech — the hottest clause of the First Amendment in terms of attention paid to it by justices — often steals the spotlight.

Assembly | Tony Mauro

Funeral-protest lawsuits won’t end with Westboro ruling

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s landmark March 2 ruling in Snyder v. Phelps gave First Amendment protection to virulent, peaceful protests at military funerals — but it won’t end the angry legal dispute over government efforts to restrict the demonstrations.
And that’s not just the view of Margie Phelps, the determined lawyer for her father’s Westboro [...]

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About The First Amendment Center

We support the First Amendment and build understanding of its core freedoms through education, information and entertainment.

The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, including freedom of speech, of the press and of religion, and the rights to assemble and to petition the government.

The First Amendment Center, with offices at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and in Washington, D.C., is an operating program of the Freedom Forum and is associated with the Newseum and the Diversity Institute. Its offices on the Vanderbilt campus are located in the John Seigenthaler Center; and in Washington, at the Newseum.

The center’s programs provide education and information to the public and groups including First Amendment scholars and experts, educators, government policy makers, legal experts and students. The center is nonpartisan and does not lobby or litigate.

The center’s Web site, www.firstamendmentcenter.org, is one of the most authoritative sources of news, information and commentary in the nation on First Amendment issues. It features daily updates on news about First Amendment-related developments, as well as information and detailed reports about U.S. Supreme Court cases involving the First Amendment, and commentary, analysis and special reports involving free expression, press freedom and religious-liberty issues.

1 For All

1 for All is a national nonpartisan program designed to build understanding and support for First Amendment freedoms. 1 for All provides teaching materials to the nation’s schools, supports educational events on America’s campuses and reminds the public that the First Amendment serves everyone, regardless of faith, race, gender or political leanings. It is truly one amendment for all. Visit 1 for All at http://1forall.us/

Help tomorrow’s citizens find their voice: Teach the First Amendment

The most basic liberties guaranteed to Americans – embodied in the 45 words of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – assure Americans a government that is responsible to its citizens and responsive to their wishes.

These 45 words are as alive and important today as they were more than 200 years ago. These liberties are neither liberal nor conservative, Democratic nor Republican – they are the basis for our representative democratic form of government.

We know from studies beginning in 1997 by the nonpartisan First Amendment Center, and from studies commissioned by the Knight Foundation and others, that few adult Americans or high school students can name the individual five freedoms that make up the First Amendment.

The lesson plans – drawn from materials prepared by the Newseum and the First Amendment Center – will draw young people into an exploration of how their freedoms began and how they operate in today’s world. Students will discuss just how far individual rights extend, examining rights in the school environment and public places. The lessons may be used in history and government, civics, language arts and journalism, art and debate classes. They may be used in sections or in their entirety. Many of these lesson plans indicate an overall goal, offer suggestions on how to teach the lesson and list additional resources and enrichment activities.

See more about lesson plans here.

First Amendment Moot Court Competition

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – the cornerstone of American democracy – is the focus of the National First Amendment Moot Court Competition. Recognized as one of the nation's finest constitutional law competitions, this annual event features a current First Amendment controversy.

During the two-day competition, each team will participate in a minimum of four rounds, arguing a hypothetical based on a current First Amendment controversy before panels of accomplished jurists, legal scholars and attorneys.

Past participants in the National First Amendment Moot Court Competition have represented law schools nationwide, from Brooklyn Law School to Duke University to Arizona State to Harvard.

22nd Annual National First Amendment Moot Court Competition - Feb. 16-17, 2012 - Registration materials will be available soon.

FIRST AMENDMENT CENTER ARCHIVES

State of the First Amendment survey reports

The State of the First Amendment surveys, commissioned since 1997 by the First Amendment Center and Newseum, are a regular check on how Americans view their first freedoms of speech, press, assembly, religion and petition.

The periodic surveys examine public attitudes toward freedom of speech, press, religion and the rights of assembly and petition; and sample public opinion on contemporary issues involving those freedoms. See the reports.