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Supreme Court Quorum Failure Ends High-Profile Copyright Case

Five justices recused themselves from hearing a plagiarism lawsuit involving Ta-Nehisi Coates, leaving the lower court's dismissal intact and reigniting scrutiny over judicial ethics.

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 declined to hear Ralph W. Baker Jr. v. Ta-Nehisi Coates after five justices recused, leaving the court without the six-justice quorum required to proceed.
  • Justices Barrett, Gorsuch, Jackson, and Sotomayor recused due to financial ties with Penguin Random House, whose parent company was named in the case; Alito also recused for unspecified reasons.
  • The lower court's dismissal of Baker's plagiarism lawsuit against Coates, which found no substantial similarities between their works, will now stand as the final ruling.
  • This marks the third instance of recusals under the Supreme Court's non-binding ethics code adopted in 2023, highlighting ongoing debates over its enforcement and transparency.
  • Watchdog groups have praised the recusals as a step toward greater accountability but continue to call for mandatory ethics rules and clearer disclosure requirements for justices.