Advice on how to survive intense and time consuming court battles

Supreme Court arguments are generally rigorous hour-long events, but according to Lisa Blatt, who has argued before the court, the activity level has increased and questioning has become more intense. There are few rules that the justices must abide by during arguments so lawyers must be prepared to answer a barrage of questions and deal with multiple interruptions. According to Carter G. Phillips, a veteran Supreme Court advocate, arguments must be presented and crucial points addressed through the answers provided during questioning. Lawyers rarely, if ever, get the opportunity to provide a prolonged discourse or explanation before the court. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. estimated that during the last term, the court asked about 70 questions every half-hour.

The court may be more talkative this term due the fact that Sotomayer, now in her second year on the court, is more comfortable voicing her ideas and asking questions. That is not to suggest that she wasn't active last year but it does suggest that there has been an increase in activity. O'Melveny & Myers tallied the lines of argument transcript in a justice's statements and inquiries from the Supreme Court last term. They found that the average argument was 486 lines whereas The Washington Post reported the number at 542 for this term.

Kagan, on the other hand, immediately settled in to a routine of direct questioning, upon joining the high court in 2010. Although direct, her line of questioning and comments often seem to suggest that she is working toward an answer or compromise. Shortly after taking on her new position with the court, Kagan told C-SPAN that the purpose of the oral argument is for each justice to address their questions in response to the brief already provided by the lawyer. Kagan points out that the justices do not review the case prior to arguments, so oral arguments also serve as an opportunity for justice's to listen to and try to understand the views of their colleagues.

Due to the increased questioning during arguments, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has been forced to take on the task of quieting justices, in an effort to allow lawyers the chance to respond questions without being repeatedly interrupted by further questioning. Sotomayor is a known for interrupting advocates and other justices, only to be checked by Roberts.

However, not all of the justices are involved in the increased verbal activity. It was recently reported that Justice Clarence Thomas has not asked any questions during arguments during the past five years. In a 2009 interview with C-SPAN, Thomas explained that arguments are designed for advocates to explain their case and close any gaps in their argument. ''I think you should allow people to complete their answers and their thought, and to continue their conversation. I find that coherence that you get from a conversation far more helpful than the rapid-fire questions,'' said Thomas.