List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States

Law clerks have assisted the Supreme Court Justices in various capacities, since the first one was hired by Justice Horace Gray in 1882.[1]:1 By the traditions and rules that have developed around this procedure today the eight Associate Justices on the Supreme Court of the United States have the opportunity to select four law clerks each term of the court. The Chief Justice is allowed five clerks, but often hires fewer.[lower-alpha 1][1]:195 After retiring from the Court, a justice may continue to employ a law clerk, who may be assigned to provide additional assistance to an active justice, or assist the retired justice when sitting by designation with a lower court.

As the list below shows, at least six Supreme Court law clerks have gone on to become Supreme Court Justices themselves: Byron White [Vinson 1946–47]; John Paul Stevens [Rutledge 1947–48]; William Rehnquist [Jackson 1952–53]; Stephen Breyer [Goldberg 1963–64]; John Roberts [Rehnquist 1980–81]; and Elena Kagan [Marshall 1987–88]. Many Supreme Court law clerks have gone on to become federal appellate or district judges, members of Congress, or Cabinet Secretaries in the Executive Branch, or both.

Alger Hiss, law clerk for Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes for the 1929–30 Supreme Court term, is the only Supreme Court law clerk in history later to be convicted of federal felonies and sentenced to prison.

List of Supreme Court law clerks

The following sortable table[lower-alpha 2] lists more than 1,900 law clerks who have served for Supreme Court justices, the years their service began and ended, the law school they attended (with the year they graduated), and any previous clerkships they held.

Notes

  1. ↑ For example, Chief Justice Rehnquist usually hired only three.
  2. ↑ To sort, click on the arrow in the header. To sort by multiple columns, click on the first column's sort arrow, then shift-click on subsequent columns' sort arrows.
    Note that for this very large table, it takes many seconds to render and display any sort changes.
  3. ↑ There are nine seats on the U.S. Supreme Court. When a justice leaves the Court, a replacement is appointed to that same seat.
    The Chief Justice seat was established by the Constitution and organized on September 24, 1789 by the Judiciary Act of 1789 1 Stat. 73.
    Seat 5 was established on September 24, 1789, by the Judiciary Act of 1789 1 Stat. 73. It was abolished by the Judicial Circuits Act 14 Stat. 209 on July 5, 1867, before the court established the practice of hiring law clerks.
    Seat 6 was established on February 24, 1807 by the Seventh Circuit Act 2 Stat. 420.
    Seats 7 and 8 were established on March 3, 1837, by the Eighth and Ninth Circuits Act 5 Stat. 176. Seat 7 was abolished by the Judicial Circuits Act 14 Stat. 209 on July 23, 1866, before the court established the practice of hiring law clerks.
    Seat 9 was established on March 3, 1863 by the Tenth Circuit Act 12 Stat. 794.
    Seat 10 was established on April 10, 1869 by the Circuit Judges Act of 1869 16 Stat. 44.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Peppers, Todd C. (2006). Courtiers of the Marble Palace: The Rise and Influence of the Supreme Court Law Clerk. Stanford University Press.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Law Review Honors Its First Distinguished Alumni" (PDF). Minnesota Law Review. Fall 2005. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Timothy D. Kelly". Dykema. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  4. ↑ http://law2.wlu.edu/faculty/profiledetail.asp?id=390
  5. ↑ "News Letter, Vol. 10, No. 3 (Spring 1967)". College of William and Mary Law School. Spring 1967. Retrieved September 25, 2014.

Additional sources


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