F1@1F Featured on Newsy.com

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Newsy, which puts together video news reports based on trending stories over print, broadcast, and the internet, has included F1@1F in its clip, “Liberal Voices Dominating Debate in U.S. Supreme Court.”  Give it a watch above (F1@1F’s mention starts at 1:35) and be sure to visit the site to see Newsy’s good work across all areas of interest.

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F1@1F in New York Times, Green Bag

The First Lady of First One @ One First and I just returned home after a day at the National Museum of American History to find the Internet bearing two holiday gifts for F1@1F:

• For the third time this year, F1@1F will be in the pages of the New York Times.  Adam Liptak’s Sidebar column for tomorrow’s paper, in which he writes about Sotomayor’s spreading her liberal wings this term, concludes with references to this “amusing and astute post.”  Thank you for all of your support this year, Adam!
• In addition, my ABA Journal column from the final day of the 2009-10 term is among the “Recommended Reading” in this year’s edition of the Green Bag Almanac and Reader (see page 9).  I’m quite humbled and honored to be listed among some giants in Supreme Court reporting, and only hope my luck continues into 2011.

Thanks to all of my readers for making 2010 an extraordinary year.  Keep your eye on the site later this week for a post commemorating F1@1F’s one year anniversary.

Vote for F1@1F @ The ABA Journal’s Blawg 100!

The ABA Journal has honored F1@1F as one of the five best “Court Watch” blogs among its 4th Annual Blawg 100 list.  Here’s the blurb:

First One @ One First is a more personal, hipper complement to SCOTUSblog. Mike Sacks (who guest-blogged and wrote for the ABA Journal) took his coverage of the venerable court to the line, where he logged what motivates individuals to wait hours on end to get a seat to witness oral arguments in person.

Register to add your vote of confidence in the ABA Journal’s impeccable editorial judgment.

F1@1F Blurbed in Law.com Column

F1@1F has made Law.com columnist Robert Ambrogi’s list of 15 new legal blogs that “prove the blawgosphere is alive and kicking”:

Call me late to the party. Although this is my first time writing about this blog, it has already been mentioned in The New York Times and the ABA Journal and on National Public Radio, to name but a few places. Georgetown 3L Mike Sacks started it in January with this introduction: “This semester, I have no morning classes. As such, I will be taking advantage of living only minutes from the Supreme Court to pursue a rather unorthodox extracurricular activity: reporting from the court as the first one in line at One First Street.” This he did — and did well. Now, the semester is over, but the blog continues.

Thank you, Robert; and yes, the blog does continue, even if at a slower pace for the moment.  But some big things are teed up for this coming term.  More later.

Interview @ Concurring Opinions

Over at Concurring Opinions, Brandon Bartels has posted an interview with me about F1@1F for the legal blog’s “Bright Ideas” series.  Here’s a sample:

What unique insights have your experiences over the past term given you about the Supreme Court and the justices?

Chief Justice Roberts is a superb political strategist.  He’s steering a right-of-center Court through a left-of-center government and knows which storms his ship can handle and which it cannot.  I wrote prospectively about this back in December, Jeff Rosen of The New Republic wrote about it in February, and Adam Liptak of the New York Times wrote about it just the other day.

What we’ve seen this year is the birth of John Roberts’ Court.  It will always, to a degree, remain the Anthony Kennedy Court as well, until he leaves the bench or one of the conservatives is replaced by a liberal.  But Roberts took control this year in the Court’s decisionmaking that we haven’t yet seen.  The next interesting thing to look out for is what issues beyond Miranda, guns, arbitration, and campaign finance the Chief believes are ripe for conservative gains as the Congress and the Presidency remain in Democratic hands.

Read the rest here.

I should note that Prof. Bartels and I have a history.  We met in the Comstock line on January 12 around 5am.  He was third and I was still nursing my wounds from being second on my second morning on the project.

And then, for the very last day of oral arguments, two of his political science students at GW usurped me.  But I forgive the professor and his acolytes–they’re all very good people.

Check out Prof. Bartels’s scholarship on the Court and judicial politics over at his website.

Welcome Back, NYT Readers!

F1@1F has made the New York Times for the second time in two months, this time in a piece entitled, “Step Away from the Courthouse Doors“:

Mike Sacks, a third-year law student at Georgetown who tries to attend all of the major arguments, commented on the developments on his blog, First One @ One First.

“For those who line up at the Court for each of its public sessions, this process marks — quite literally — a rite of passage from sidewalk to sacred space,” Mr. Sacks wrote. “To deny these men and women this dramatic piece of their pilgrimage is quite mistaken.”

For those of you new to the site, please do stick around and explore.  You’ll find the above quote in the immediately prior post.  But don’t stop there: I suggest starting from the beginning!  And to keep up with future posts from F1@1F, you may subscribe via RSS or email and follow my twitter feed, all available on the right of this page.

F1@1F’s Guide to SCOTUS Seats, Pt. II @ ATL

F1@1F’s second installment of its Guide to SCOTUS Seats is now live at Above the Law:

Last week, I gave you all the information you need to be at the head of the line. But getting there is only the start of the full experience. After the jump, I give you some tips to maximize your morning.

Read the rest here.

New readers, have fun digging through F1@1F’s archives – may I suggest starting from the start?

ATL’s Law Student of the Day!

Welcome Above the Law readers!

Georgetown 3L Mike Sacks had a mission this semester. He wanted to be first in line for every major argument at the Supreme Court. He’s been documenting his adventures on his blog First One @ One First.

This is made easier for him because he has no morning classes and lives on Capitol Hill, a few minutes away from the High Court. He should also have camping experience from his undergrad days at Duke, but unlike me, he somehow avoided spending time in Krzyzewskiville.

Maybe if he had paid his dues tenting out for basketball games, he would have succeeded in his mission. But no. Some Californians derailed him this week, as documented by the New York Times.

Fair enough, Kash.

Keep a lookout at ATL tomorrow next week:

Sacks will be writing a post for us on how to tailgate score a SCOTUS seat. If you have any specific questions, shoot us an email.

Until then, I must hunker down and get my oral argument write-up readied for the ABA Journal tonight, and maybe even get a Supreme Court Side Walk clip posted on here before my body shuts down.

Make sure to subscribe to F1@1F’s email, RSS, or Twitter feeds available to the right.

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Welcome NY Times Readers!

Adam Liptak of the NYT has scooped my McDonald vox populi column and I can’t thank him more for doing so. 

WASHINGTON — Mike Sacks likes to be the first person in line for big Supreme Court arguments, and he was feeling pretty confident when he arrived at the court Monday morning around 8, 26 hours before the court would hear a big gun-control case.

To all the readers directed to F1@1F from Mr. Liptak’s story, please enjoy your stay and be sure to subscribe!