of the Court.” In 1970, the Court changed its rules again, limiting each side to the present-day requirement of thirty minutes each.
CourtSpeak: Rule 37, Rules of the Supreme Court
“An amicus curiae brief that brings to the attention of the Court relevant matter not already brought to its attention by the parties may be of considerable help to the Court. An amicus curiae brief that does not serve this purpose burdens the Court, and its filing is not favored.”
What are amicus briefs?
Amicus, or friend of the court, briefs are briefs filed by interested non-parties who wish to emphasize particular aspects of a case and stress its importance to the Court. Amicus briefs are a regular staple of U.S. Supreme Court practice, particularly in important, high-profile decisions. For example, approximately ninety amicus briefs were filed before the Court in the affirmative action in education cases of Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger.
Sometimes, the justices seem to consider certain amicus briefs as very significant and persuasive. For example, Chief Justice William Rehnquist cited the amicus brief of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists written by attorney Rosalyn Mazer in his unanimous opinion for the Court in the celebrated First Amendment decision in Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988).
PERSONNEL
Who is the reporter of the Supreme Court?
The reporter of decisions is the individual responsible for compiling the U.S. Supreme Court decisions into the United States Reports, the official compilation of U.S. Supreme Court opinions. There have been sixteen reporters in the history of the Court. They include:
| Alexander Dallas | 1790–1800 |
| William Cranch | 1801–15 |
| Henry Wheaton | 1816–27 |
| Richard Peters | 1828–42 |
| Benjamin Howard | 1843–60 |
| Jeremiah Black | 1861–62 |
| John Wallace | 1863–74 |
| William Otto | 1875–83 |
| John Davis | 1883–1902 |
| Charles Butler | 1902–16 |
| Ernest Knaebel | 1916–44 |
| Walter Wyatt | 1946–63 |
| Henry Putzel Jr. | 1964–79 |
| Henry Curtis Lind | 1979–89 |
| Frank D. Wagner | 1989–present |
Who is the Clerk of the Court?
The Clerk of the Court is the person who oversees the administration of the Court’s docket and caseload. The position of clerk is established by federal law, 28 U.S.C. section 671, which provides in part: “The Supreme Court may appoint and fix the compensation of a clerk and one or more deputy clerks. The clerk shall be subject to removal by the Court. Deputy clerks shall be subject to removal by the clerk with the approval of the Court or the Chief Justice of the United States.”
There have been nineteen Clerks of the U.S. Supreme Court in its history, including:
| John Tucker | 1790–91 |
| Samuel Bayard | 1791–1800 |
| Elias B. Caldwell | 1800–25 |
| William Griffith | 1826–27 |
| William T. Carroll | 1827–63 |
| D. W. Middleton | 1863–80 |
| James H. McKenney | 1880–1913 |
| James Maher | 1913–21 |
| William R. Stansbury | 1921–27 |
| Charles Elmore Copley | 1927–52 |
| Harold B. Willey | 1952–56 |
| John T. Fey | 1956–58 |
| James Browning | 1958–61 |
| John F. Davis | 1961–70 |
| E. Robert Seaver | 1970–72 |
| Michael Rodak | 1972–81 |
| Alexander Stevas | 1981–85 |
| Joseph F. Spaniol Jr. | 1985–91 |
| William K. Suter | 1991–present |
The nineteenth Clerk of the Court, William Suter, is seen in this artist’s sketch reading a document as John Roberts (foreground) is about to be sworn in as chief justice on October 3, 2005. The sitting justices are on the left and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, President George W. Bush, and Roberts’s family are seated on the far right. Dana Verkouteren/AP Images.
Who are law clerks?
Each U.S. Supreme Court hires several law clerks to assist in the screening of cases in the certiorari pool, writing of memoranda on legal issues, drafting of opinions, and other legal matters. Most of the justices hire four law clerks. Many of the law clerks are recent graduates of prestigious law schools such as Harvard or Yale. Many of the law clerks serve for a U.S. Supreme Court justice after having clerked for a federal circuit court of appeals judge. Most clerks work for a justice for one year, though some will work on two-year terms.
What Supreme Court justice started the practice of hiring a law clerk?
Justice Horace Gray instituted the practice of law clerks in 1882 when he joined the Court. When he was a member of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Gray had started the practice there as well, hiring future Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis.
