Joan Biskupic published another article about Justice Stevens's papers. She provides some background insight into Grutter. Justice Stevens talked Justice Souter out of writing a concurrence, and Justice Stevens prevailed upon Justice O'Connor to cite an article his ConLaw professor wrote in the Chicago Bar Journal. We did learn that O'Connor's 25-year clock emerged in her early draft opinion. But so far, at least, the Stevens papers are not nearly as revelatory as I hoped. (Mark Walsh wrote a fun story about Justice Stevens and the student prayer cases.)
However, buried in Biskupic's article was this passage:
After oral arguments and a preliminary vote in cases, the justices circulate notes and draft opinions as they hammer out the legal basis for a decision. Custom dictates that all nine justices, or the "conference," as they are collectively called, receive copies of all correspondence between justices. So on the current bench, for example, when Justice Neil Gorsuch sends a note asking for a change in an opinion being drafted by Roberts, he types at the bottom, "Copies to the Conference," and all others can see the state of play.
