Marcia Coyle (born 1952) is an American legal reporter. She covered the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

for ''

The National Law Journal ''The National Law Journal'' (NLJ) is an American legal periodical founded in 1978. The NLJ was created by Jerry Finkelstein, who envisioned it as a "sibling newspaper" of the ''New York Law Journal''. Originally a tabloid-sized weekly news ...

'' for almost thirty years until retiring from the ''Journal'' in 2022. She is a regular contributing reporter to the ''

PBS News Hour ''PBS News Hour'', previously stylized as ''PBS NewsHour'', is the news division of PBS and an American daily evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations since October 20, 1975. It airs seven nights a week, and ...

'' on matters concerning the Supreme Court.

Early life and education

Coyle grew up in Pennsylvania. She earned a BA from

Hood College Hood College is a private college in Frederick, Maryland. In fall 2018, Hood enrolled 2,052 students (1,092 undergraduate students; 960 graduate students). Thirty-eight percent of students are either members of under-represented racial or ethni ...

, a master's degree from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism (branded as Northwestern Medill; formally the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications) is the journalism school of Northwestern University. It offers both undergraduate and graduat ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from the

University of Baltimore School of Law The University of Baltimore School of Law, or the UB School of Law, is one of the four colleges that make up the University of Baltimore, which is part of the University System of Maryland. The UBalt School of Law is one of only two law schools i ...

Career

In 1974, Coyle began working as a journalist for the ''Call-Chronicle'' of

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

. She got her start at the paper writing obituaries. She later covered state government and politics, and was based in the state capital of

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

. In 1984, the ''Call-Chronicle'' opened a

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

bureau Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...

and assigned Coyle to organize and oversee it. She was hired by ''

'' in 1987 and ultimately became the ''Journal'' chief Washington correspondent. In the mid-2000s, Coyle began providing news analysis on the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

for the ''

'' and continued to do so into 2025. During a segment with Coyle on the April 30, 2025, edition of the ''News Hour'', it was revealed that this appearance would be her final report on the Supreme Court for the program, as she intends to shift more of her time to writing about the court and "spending ... more time with ergrandchildren". In 1995, she contributed to the book ''A Year in the Life of the Supreme Court''. In 2013, she authored the book ''The Roberts Court: The Struggle for the Constitution''. Coyle retired from ''

'' in December 2022.

Awards and honors

Coyle received the 1992

George Polk Award The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the awar ...

for Legal Reporting. In November 2000, she received the Toni House Journalism Award from the

American Judicature Society The American Judicature Society (AJS) is an independent, non-partisan membership organization working nationally to protect the integrity of the American justice system. AJS's membership — including judges, lawyers, and members of the public — ...

for her total body of work. In 2021, she received the Gavel Award of the

American Judges Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Personal

Coyle married Raymond E. DiBiagio Jr. in May 1984 and sometimes uses the name Marcia Coyle DiBiagio.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coyle, Marcia Living people 1952 births American legal writers George Polk Award recipients 20th-century American women journalists 21st-century American women journalists American women television journalists Medill School of Journalism alumni University of Baltimore School of Law alumni Writers from Allentown, Pennsylvania PBS people