Frank Wagner '67, one of only 16 individuals since 1790 to serve as Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court, has returned to Cornell to mentor Cornell Law School students at the Legal Information Institute (LII).

Wagner, who retired from the court in September 2010, now works with students on the LII's Supreme Court Bulletin, a student-written and edited online publication that offers commentary on all Supreme Court cases before they are argued. Nearly 50,000 people read each issue.

"Having Frank on board has been a tremendous privilege," said Thomas R. Bruce, director of the LII. "His editorial talents are formidable, verging on scary -- and he's a very gentle and effective teacher. He's been a good friend to us over the years, and I'm delighted that he's willing to share his skills and insight with us now."

The Reporter of Decisions edits Supreme Court opinions for grammar, spelling, syntax, correctness of quotes and citations, and conformity with style rules. The position also includes writing the syllabus preceding each case and creating the tables, index, and other features of a law report. The reporter is appointed by the Supreme Court and sworn in by the chief justice.

Wagner, who held the position from 1987 to 2010, published 82 volumes of the U.S. Reports (the official records of Supreme Court proceedings); more than any previous reporter. He also led the team that created the Supreme Court's first website.

Wagner said the LII plays a vital role in providing open access to the law. "They do a wonderful thing, making the court's output much more widely available, and for free. It's grease for the wheels of democracy," he said.

He is also the inspiration for the Law School's new Frank Wagner Prizes, cash awards given to the two best student-written case previews of the year. Lee Hollaar, Wagner's longtime friend and University of Utah professor of computer science, created the Frank Wagner Prize in Wagner's honor.

"I was happy to hear that Frank wanted to mentor young law students on the finer points of legal writing and editing," Hollaar said, "and I thought, why not do something that honors Frank and rewards the LII student editors and writers who make the bulletin possible?"

This year's winners, selected by Wagner, were Edan Shertzer, Colin O'Regan and Eric Johnson, who won for their preview of Janus Capital Group, et al. v. First Derivative Traders. Second place went to Sarah Pruett, Melissa Koven and Joanna Chen for their preview of Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn et al.

"One of the great pleasures of my job at the court was working with the many talented young law clerks who came through its doors each year," Wagner said. "They helped to keep me sharp, and I knew I would miss that when I retired. Thankfully, I get a taste of that same feeling from the Cornell Law students who work for the LII."

Paul Miller is a communications specialist for the Legal Information Institute.