On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, Just The News reported that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a copyright lawsuit against author Ta-Nehisi Coates due to insufficient justices to form a quorum.
Five justices—Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Sonia Sotomayor—recused themselves from the case, *Ralph W. Baker, Jr. v. Ta-Nehisi Coates et al.* The recusals prevented the court from proceeding, as a minimum of six justices is required to hear a case.
The lawsuit, filed by Ralph W. Baker, Jr., alleged that Coates’ book, “The Water Dancer,” plagiarized Baker’s work, “Shock Exchange: How Inner-City Kids From Brooklyn Predicted the Great Recession and the Pain Ahead.”
Four of the justices—Barrett, Gorsuch, Jackson, and Sotomayor—have published books through Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann, a named party in the case, which likely prompted their recusals.
The reason for Justice Alito’s recusal remains undisclosed, though speculation by judicial ethics group Fix the Court suggested possible stock ownership in a related company. Alito’s recent financial disclosure, however, showed no new stock purchases.
As a result of the Supreme Court’s decision not to take up the case, the lower court’s ruling, which favored Coates, will remain in effect.
Source: Just The News
