Noel Francisco’s Exit Trims Scant High Court Minority Presence

Solicitor General Noel Francisco plans to step down when the Supreme Court term ends this summer, meaning one of the nation’s highest profile non-White lawyers will no longer argue the government’s cases before the country’s most important court.

Francisco, who has argued 17 cases at the high court as solicitor general, is likely to return for more oral arguments in private practice, just less frequently. The small cadre of elite attorneys that argues a disproportionate share of Supreme Court oral arguments includes few other lawyers of color.

Despite being representative of 37% of the American population, Black, Latinx, and Asian ...