Joan Marie Biskupic (born c. 1956) is an American journalist, biographer, and lawyer who has covered the United States Supreme Court since 1989.

Early life and education

Biskupic is one of nine siblings born to a Catholic family of Croatian and Irish descent. She received her high school diploma from Benet Academy in Lisle, Illinois, a B.A. degree in journalism from Marquette University, an M.A. degree in English from the University of Oklahoma, and a J.D. degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. One of her brothers, Steven M. Biskupic (born 1961), is a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, now in private practice. Another brother, Vince Biskupic, is a judge on the Outagamie County Circuit Court.

Career

From 1989 to 1992, Biskupic was a legal affairs writer for Congressional Quarterly. She was awarded the 1991 Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting on Congress for her coverage of the Clarence Thomas hearings for Congressional Quarterly. Prior to that, she covered government and politics for the Milwaukee Journal and the Tulsa Tribune. From 1992 to 2000, she was the Supreme Court reporter for The Washington Post. From 2000 to 2012 she was the legal affairs correspondent for USA Today. Her work was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting in 2015. She was editor in charge, legal affairs for Reuters from 2012 to 2016. During the 2016–17 academic year, she was a visiting professor at the University of California, Irvine's School of Law. As of August 2024, she is a full-time Supreme Court analyst at CNN. She also regularly appears as a commentator on other television and radio programs. She is a regular panelist on Washington Week and has appeared on The Diane Rehm Show, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Nightline, Face the Nation, and Stay Tuned with Preet. Biskupic has written books on the Supreme Court, including biographies of Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, and Sonia Sotomayor, and Chief Justice John Roberts. She was awarded three residential fellowships at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in 2003, 2004 and 2008, for work on these biographies.

Honors

She has been a member of the District of Columbia bar since 1994. Biskupic received honorary Doctors of Laws degrees from Marquette University in May 2010, and Georgetown University in May 2014.

Publications