Journalist sues for emails between solicitors general and Supreme Court justices
An investigative journalist has sued the U.S. Department of Justice under the Freedom of Information Act, seeking emails between the U.S. Supreme Court justices and any former or current Solicitor General of the United States.
Justin Leopold, who works for VICE News, filed the lawsuit Friday in Washington, D.C., according to the National Law Journal. The complaint says it’s not publicly known whether the justices have official email addresses or communicate electronically with the solicitor general.
Leopold’s attorney, Washington, D.C. solo Jeffrey Light, declined to comment on whether he and his client have any evidence that such emails exist. However, the lawsuit argued, any communications would be of great public importance. The solicitor general represents the federal government before the Supreme Court; an email to a justice could be an improper ex parte communication.
The complaint says Leopold filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the emails on Jan. 11, 2015. He got one response Feb. 5 of last year, saying the request would be sent to the Office of the Solicitor General. He got no further response, his lawsuit says, which permits him to sue under FOIA.
The Supreme Court declined to comment to the National Law Journal; the Justice Department did not immediately respond to request for comment. However, one former solicitor general, Ted Olson, told the publication that he’d never emailed the justices; another, Seth Waxman, said his conversations with justices were typically not substantive and held at social functions.
