List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 4)


Law clerks have assisted the justices of the United States Supreme Court in various capacities since the first one was hired by Justice Horace Gray in 1882. Each Associate Justice is permitted to employ four law clerks per Court term; the Chief Justice may employ five. Most persons serving in this capacity are recent law school graduates. 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. 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 may assist the retired justice when sitting by designation with a lower court.

Table of law clerks

The following is a table of law clerks serving the associate justice holding Supreme Court seat 4 which was established on September 24, 1789 by the 1st Congress through the Judiciary Act of 1789. This seat is currently occupied by Justice Elena Kagan.

justice=Joseph Rucker Lamar|
begin=January 3, 1911|
end=January 2, 1916
SCOTUS clerk
SCOTUS clerk
efn|First woman to clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Additional sources

  • Baier, Paul R.. "The Law Clerks: Profile of an Institution," Vanderbilt L. Rev. 26: 1125–77.
  • "Finding Aid to the Papers of William O. Douglas,", p. 138, list of clerks.
  • Freund, Paul A., "Historical Reminiscence, Justice Brandeis: A Law Clerk's Remembrance", 68 Am. Jewish Hist. 7.
  • "Georgia Law Alumni Who Have Clerked for a U.S. Supreme Court Justice,", Spring/Summer 2004.
  • Judicial Clerkship Handbook,, 2013-2014, p. 33, Appendix B.
  • Mason, Alpheus T.. Brandeis: a Free Man's Life. New York, NY: Viking Press. List of law clerks, p. 690.,.
  • Mersky, Roy M.. Louis Dembitz Brandeis, 1856–1941: a Bibliography. List of law clerks, p. 11.
  • Newland, Charles A.. "Personal Assistants to the Supreme Court Justices: The Law Clerks," Oregon L. Rev. 40: 306–07.
  • Small, Marshall L.,, Journal of Supreme Court History 32.
  • . University of Virginia Law School, list of clerks, 2004-2018.
  • , University of Michigan Law School Web site. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  • Ward, Artemus and David L. Weiden. Sorcerers' Apprentices: 100 Years of Law Clerks at the United States Supreme Court. New York, NY: New York University Press.,.