Ex-Alito Clerk Steps Up to Defend Inmate Who Took On the Supreme Court

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The US Supreme Court has designated Cooper & Kirk partner Brian W. Barnes to argue in the case of a Texas inmate who represented himself in his initial appeal.

In an order on Tuesday, the justices invited the former clerk to Justice Samuel Alito to brief and argue in defense of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which denied William Maxwell good-time credit that could have allowed him to transfer out of prison early.

Barnes has argued before federal circuit courts, including in cases involving racketeering before the US Court of Appeals for the Third and Tenth circuits. He graduated from Columbia Law School.

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