So why does the Supreme Court prefer: Century?
“(b) The text of every booklet-format document, including any appendix thereto, shall be typeset in Century family ( e.g., Century Expanded, New Century Schoolbook, or Century Schoolbook) 12-point type with 2-point or more leading between lines. Quotations in excess of 50 words shall be indented. The typeface of footnotes shall be 10-point or larger with 2-point or more leading between lines. The text of the document must appear on both sides of the page.”
“The book “Typography for Lawyers,” for example, ranks Century Schoolbook on a short “A list” of fonts. Times New Roman and Courier, by contrast, made the “C list” of “questionable” fonts for lawyers.
While you may not immediately recognize the name Century Schoolbook, you’ve been reading legal opinions in this font since your first year of law school. The U.S. Supreme Court publishes its opinions in Century Schoolbook. Likewise, Rule 33(1)(B) of the Supreme Court’s Rules states that the text of all major documents, including briefs, “shall be typeset in a Century family (e.g., Century Expanded, New Century Schoolbook, or Century Schoolbook) 12-point type.””