Defender Services has announced the launch of the Supreme Court Advocacy Project, a centralized effort to coordinate Supreme Court litigation to sharpen the defense bar’s performance before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The project aims to bolster high court practice and build a pipeline of appellate talent within federal defender offices, and will provide resources and training materials for public defenders and court-appointed attorneys representing clients before the high court.
Unlike the Justice Department, which has the Office of the Solicitor General to coordinate Supreme Court litigation, each federal defender office has historically handled its cases itself.
Federal defenders tapped Ashley Robertson, currently an assistant to the US solicitor general, as the project’s director.
Robertson clerked for Justice Elena Kagan and two lower court judges and served as senior counsel to former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, before joining the Office of the Solicitor General, where she argued three cases before the justices.
Joining Robertson as SCAP’s senior counsel will be Stacie Fahsel, who currently serves in the appellate unit at the Federal Public Defender’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Fahsel clerked for Judge Harris L. Hartz on the Tenth Circuit before stints at law firms.
Robertson and Fahsel are expected to begin their positions in the coming months.
SCAP will not be a “defender general” with authority to take over cases from defender offices.
The Office of the Federal Defender for the Eastern District of Virginia will provide initial administrative support as SCAP launches.
Back to News Page