Tom Goldstein
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 is also on the faculty of Stanford and Harvard Law Schools where he teaches courses on Supreme Court litigation.
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[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 16 cases before the Supreme Court, and won four cases in a row, three by five-justice majorities.
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 David Boies on New York Times Co. v. Tasini (decided in 2001).
According to an April 2006 article in The New Republic[2], Tom 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 most influential Justice on the Supreme Court during a particular period. 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 obviously 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.
[edit] Teaching appointments
As mentioned, Professor Goldstein is on the faculty of both the Stanford[3] and Harvard law schools[4]. 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. [5]
[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 hm 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, the Washingtonian named him one of the "six attorneys to watch in the 21st century".
[edit] Personal life, hobbies
Professor Goldstein is married to Amy Howe, with whom he co-founded Goldstein & Howe, P.C. After Goldstein became a partner at Akin, Gump, Professor 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]
