MICAYLA BITZ is the 2026-2027 Fellow assigned to the United States Sentencing Commission, the agency responsible for the establishment of sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts. Ms. Bitz joins the Supreme Court Fellows Program from the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, where she clerked for the Honorable Patrick J. Schiltz. She was previously in private practice. Ms. Bitz earned a B.A., summa cum laude, in Communications Studies from Concordia College-Moorhead, and a J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of St. Thomas School of Law, where she served as Editor in Chief of the University of St. Thomas Law Journal.

CONNER ROBINSON is the 2026-2027 Fellow assigned to the Supreme Court of the United States, where he will serve in the Office of the Counselor to the Chief Justice. Mr. Robinson joins the Supreme Court Fellows Program from the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, where he clerked for the Honorable Julie A. Robinson. He was previously in private practice. Mr. Robinson earned a B.A., in Political Science from Kansas State University, and a J.D., with Pro Bono Honors, from the University of Chicago Law School.

OWEN B. SMITHERMAN is the 2026-2027 Fellow assigned to the Federal Judicial Center, the education and research agency for the federal courts. Mr. Smitherman joins the Supreme Court Fellows Program from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, where he clerked for the Honorable Neomi Rao. He previously clerked for the Honorable Andrew S. Oldham of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Mr. Smitherman earned an A.B., magna cum laude, in Politics from Princeton University, and a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he served as Senior Articles Editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.