How do Supreme Court justices pick their clerks?
Over the past three decades, the standard practice for Supreme Court justices has been to choose their law clerks from those who have served (or are serving) in other courts, primarily the federal courts of appeals. The growing reliance on the courts of appeals as sources of law clerks is noteworthy in itself.
Where do most Supreme Court clerks come from?
Since the 2017 term—the first full one with a Trump nominee—more than half of all the 175 clerks came from two schools: Harvard or Yale, according to Bloomberg Law research. The Top 10 law schools account for 85\%, and just 15\% of Supreme Court clerks graduated from the more than 200 remaining U.S. law schools.
What is the role of the clerk for a Supreme Court judge?
A clerk’s work for his or her justice also generally includes writing bench memos on the cases that the Court has accepted for full review, preparing possible questions for oral arguments, doing legal research, and perhaps even writing a first draft of the justice’s opinion in a case.
What do Scotus clerks do after?
By OT2038, a typical SCOTUS clerk will have clerked for a magistrate judge, a bankruptcy judge, a district judge, and six different circuit court judges before doing a Bristow, and then finally, clerking. They will then accept a firm clerkship bonus, work two years, and retire.
What do Supreme clerks do?
The Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States is the officer of the Supreme Court of the United States responsible for overseeing filings with the Court and maintaining its records. The current Clerk is Scott S. Harris.
Which Supreme Court justices were clerks?
For example, Justices Stephen Breyer, Bryon White, Elena Kagan, and John Paul Stevens, as well as Chief Justices William Rehnquist and John Roberts, all served as clerks on the high court.
What do clerks for Supreme Court justices do?
Among their many functions, clerks do legal research that assists justices in deciding what cases to accept and what questions to ask during oral arguments, prepare memoranda, and draft orders and opinions.
How do you land a Scotus clerkship?
How do I apply? At some point during your federal clerkship, bundle your resume, cover letter, transcript, writing sample and letters of recommendation (most Justices require at least three) and ping them to the Court. The Justices decide their own hiring schedules, so keep an eye out for announcements well in advance.
What is it like to be a Supreme Court Clerk?
As term progresses, clerks move “to the fun part.” Assisting with opinion-drafting is a process that can vary between Justices. “Sometimes the Justice just wants to talk through an issue, so having a personality that won’t be a distraction here is really beneficial,” says one former clerk.
What is the role of the Clerk of court?
They share much of a Justice’s work and can influence his or her thinking. By wading through the cert. pool to make recommendations about which cases the Court should consider, a clerk operates in concert with his or her Justice.
How do I become a federal clerks of court?
At some point during your federal clerkship, bundle your resume, cover letter, transcript, writing sample and letters of recommendation (most Justices require at least three) and ping them to the Court. The Justices decide their own hiring schedules, so keep an eye out for announcements well in advance.
How does a Supreme Court justice write an opinion?
After oral argument, the Justice who has been appointed to write an opinion typically selects one of his or her clerks to author a “draft” opinion (Justice Scalia writes most of his own opinions). The Justice will read the clerk’s initial draft and offer revisions. Sometimes wholesale changes are needed. On occasion few, if any, edits are required.