Legal Question in Constitutional Law in District of Columbia
Supreme Court Law Clerks
I understand that each Supreme Court Justice has four clerks to assist him or her in cases. I wish to know if law clerks who serve for Supreme Court Justices are limited to one term or if any serve for more than one term, possible for a different Justice.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Supreme Court Law Clerks
Although this question has virtually nothing to do with consitutional law, I'm virtually certain that clerks to the justices are allowed to serve no more than one term, for a lot of different reasons.
Re: Supreme Court Law Clerks
The clerks are appointed for one-year terms, but there is no rule against serving more than once, and a second clerkship could be for the same Justice or for a different one.
A few clerks have served more than once but this rarely happens, since there is little for a clerk to gain by staying. Because the Justices want to train a decent number of future leaders of the legal profession and because a second year would add little to what a clerk learned in the first, they generally want new hires each year.
As I understand it, the Chief Justice is entitled to five clerks and each of the Associate Justices may have four. I remember reading that one of the Justices preferred to have only three, but I don't remember who it was and I'm not sure if he is still on the Court.