It's the end of an era.
SCOTUSblog has been acquired by The Dispatch.
There have been rumblings about one of the OG Blogs being sold for a variety of factors (including the arrest of one of the founders, Tom Goldstein).
Now it's official.
Amy Howe, Tom's wife and co-founder of the blog, writes about the sale here:
SCOTUSblog is delighted to announce that it has been acquired by Dispatch Media, Inc., and will round out The Dispatch’s coverage of the Supreme Court and the rule of law.
This blog began nearly a quarter of a century ago as a way to promote
our legal work. Over the years, it has evolved into a resource on all
things related to the Supreme Court, from soup-to-nuts coverage of the
cases argued at the court to retirements, confirmations, and other
special features. We have scaled back our coverage in recent years as
the costs of that coverage grew, but through our partnership with The Dispatch,
we will be able to restore SCOTUSblog’s publishing capabilities,
including expanded analysis for all merits cases and oral arguments.
The Dispatch plans to maintain SCOTUSblog as our users have
come to enjoy it and will continue to offer its existing content to all
readers at no cost — while bringing back some of the site’s most beloved
features, such as the Stat Pack. The site will also continue to remain a
source of unbiased coverage of the Supreme Court.
Another OG blogger, David Lat, will have involvement in SCOTUSblog. From Lat's newsletter:
And I’m delighted to share that I have a personal connection to this
news: as noted in Steve Hayes’s post, I’m partnering with The Dispatch
as it works toward becoming, as Dispatch president Michael Rothman put
it, “the definitive source for legal news and analysis in the United
States.” So in the weeks and months ahead, expect to hear my voice on
Advisory Opinions and read my writing in SCOTUSblog.
When I
first entered legal blogging around 20 years ago, launching Underneath
Their Robes (2004) and then Above the Law (2006), I drew inspiration
from Tom Goldstein and Amy Howe, who founded SCOTUSblog in 2002—so it’s
wild for me to think that I’ll now be contributing to SCOTUSblog’s
pages.
Congrats to Tom, Amy, David, and The Dispatch. SCOTUSblog has always been the place to go for Supreme Court news, and I'm sure that will not change.