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 Post, Speech Analysis, Supreme Court Case | Tony Mauro | February 20, 2012

Stolen Valor Act case: a checklist of things to watch

How the justices might vote in United States v. Alvarez, concerning lying about military medals, is tough to predict, but here’s a look at some factors that could emerge in oral arguments Feb. 22.

Press Analysis, Supreme Court Case | Tony Mauro | January 11, 2012

Several justices seem to support FCC decency rules

Comments from four justices seem to bode well for the government, but five votes are needed to overturn 2nd Circuit’s ruling.

Press Analysis, Supreme Court Case | Tony Mauro | January 9, 2012

Justices to ponder full First Amendment freedom for broadcasting

Oral arguments tomorrow in FCC v. Fox Television Stations may offer clues to how the Court may answer that question, as justices hear debate on constitutionality of FCC’s regulation of broadcast indecency.

Speech Analysis, Supreme Court Case | Tony Mauro | December 6, 2011

Secret Service hopes for immunity in Cheney protest arrest

Supreme Court agrees to hear case involving man who criticized Iraq war and touched vice president at shopping mall in 2006, and argues that his arrest was in retaliation for his protest.

Speech Analysis, Supreme Court Case | Tony Mauro | October 18, 2011

Stolen Valor case: False speech may leave some justices cold

In several precedents, the Supreme Court has said false speech deserves little if any First Amendment protection — which may make a rough road for a man who lied about receiving the Medal of Honor.

First Amendment Analysis, Supreme Court Case | Tony Mauro | October 3, 2011

Religion, broadcast cases highlight new term

Case involving hiring decisions by religious groups may be biggest religion case before the Court in a decade; broadcasting case concerns FCC anti-indecency rules. Also:

First Amendment Analysis | Tony Mauro | July 1, 2011

Supreme Court term was a winner for First Amendment

Conservative-led majorities of justices invoke Court’s liberal-era hallmarks of traditional free-speech protection in cases involving funeral protests, violent video games, commercial speech, FOIA, campaign finance.

Speech Commentary, Supreme Court Case | Tony Mauro | June 27, 2011

High drama at announcement of ruling on violent video games

Tony Mauro reports: In his booming voice, Justice Antonin Scalia took apart California’s statute almost line by line.

Speech Analysis, Supreme Court Case | Tony Mauro | June 24, 2011

Court’s data-mining ruling: big change on commercial speech?

No one seems quite sure whether Supreme Court’s striking down Vermont law against sale and use of pharmacies’ prescription info to doctors signals a move toward treating commercial speech the same as political and expressive speech.

Speech Analysis, Supreme Court Case | Tony Mauro | June 14, 2011

Scalia continues his history of relying on history

In his majority opinion in Nevada Commission on Ethics v. Carrigan, the originalist justice asserts that, as in the 18th century, a legislator’s vote is a mechanical act of governance, not an expressive act protected by the First Amendment.

Press Analysis | Tony Mauro | June 13, 2011

Federal civil trials: (possibly) coming to a TV screen near you

Pilot project for cameras in federal courts will start next month, but some wonder whether its restrictions will allow enough news coverage to test cameras’ impact.

Press Analysis | Tony Mauro | May 17, 2011

FOIA weakened as whistleblower weapon

Supreme Court rules that documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act cannot form the basis of False Claims Act lawsuits.

First Amendment Analysis | Tony Mauro | May 12, 2011

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 | May 9, 2011

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 | April 28, 2011

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.

« Older Entries |

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.

Founded by John Seigenthaler, the First Amendment Center is an operating program of the Freedom Forum and is associated with the Newseum and the Diversity Institute. The center has offices in the John Seigenthaler Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

The center’s programs, including the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum, 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. See First Amendment Center Fact Sheet and FAQs. See internships info.

The center’s website, 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 detailed reports about U.S. Supreme Court cases involving the First Amendment, and commentary, analysis and special reports on free expression, press freedom and religious-liberty issues. Support the work of the First Amendment Center.

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.

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 in February, 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.

The 22nd Annual National First Amendment Moot Court Competition is Feb. 16-17, 2012. See registration information and details about the competition.

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.