Hail and farewell

DEPARTURES

Today is the last day for our editor, James Romoser. The blog hired James nearly three years ago, in the middle of the pandemic, after a series of interviews over (of course) Zoom. We had only met him once in person several years before, and even after hiring him we still would not meet him in person for many months to come.

Although our early meetings with James may have been virtual, his impact on the blog was very real. James shepherded the blog through the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer, two confirmation hearings, countless late-night orders on the shadow docket, and blockbuster rulings like Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. Throughout it all, he made our ledes crisper and our prose cleaner, and he pushed us to make clear not just what the Supreme Court had done, but what the effect of the court’s actions would be.

James also brought a fresh eye to our coverage of the court. He added some new features (like his column at the end of each year remembering people who had an impact on the court who had died) and revamped others (such as his popular “Morning Read” feature, which sampled news articles and commentary on the court). Behind the scenes, he did everything from recruiting authors to finding art to illustrate those authors’ stories. And throughout it all, he was a valued colleague, who brought both a high level of professionalism and a great sense of humor to work with him every day.

Unfortunately for us, Politico also noticed what an excellent editor James is. But although he will no longer be with us at SCOTUSblog after today, his work will continue to make the blog a better news site in the future. We wish him all the best, and we look forward to cheering him on in his new job.

Ellena Erskine, the current blog manager, will step up to serve as the blog’s editor after James’s departure. For two years, Ellena has worked closely with James on virtually all aspects of the blog’s operations. She has also produced the blog’s SCOTUStalk podcast, bringing on new guests and new ideas. Before joining SCOTUSblog, Ellena worked at a nonprofit, where she focused on making consumer protection law concepts accessible in plain English – a mission that aligns perfectly with ours at SCOTUSblog. She is a talented writer and editor, and we’re excited to have her tackle this new role.