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yesterday

Supreme Court Declines Baker v. Coates Due to Rare Mass Recusal

Five justices recused themselves from the copyright case, leaving the Court without a quorum and affirming the lower court’s dismissal.

Members of the Supreme Court sit for a new group portrait following the addition of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, Oct. 7, 2022.
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Overview

  • The Supreme Court announced it could not hear Baker v. Coates after five justices recused themselves, citing potential conflicts of interest.
  • Justices Barrett, Gorsuch, Jackson, and Sotomayor recused due to financial ties with Penguin Random House, a party in the case, while Alito’s reason remains unclear.
  • The lack of a quorum means the lower court’s dismissal of Ralph W. Baker Jr.’s plagiarism claims against Ta-Nehisi Coates will stand.
  • This marks the third instance of recusals since the Court adopted a voluntary ethics code in November 2023, which lacks binding enforcement mechanisms.
  • The recusals have reignited calls for greater judicial transparency and stronger ethics rules, as public scrutiny of financial conflicts continues to grow.