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What are US Supreme Court justices' legal assistants called?
US Supreme Court justices hire law clerks to assist with their responsibilities.The Chief Justice and Associate Justices each have four Law Clerks, usually recent law school graduates with law review or moot court experience who have passed the bar. Law clerks assist in summarizing cases of parties' that have petitioned the Court for a Writ of Certiorari, among other things. They also have unpaid interns, who are law school students, or college graduates contemplating law school. As with any other Court, there are legal secretaries, clerks and other behind-the-scenes staff to help with administrative tasks.
What kind of education does a US Supreme Court justice need?
As far as the Constitution is concerned, there are no educational requirements for Supreme Court justices (including the Chief Justice). In the real world, however, the current Supreme Court justices have at least a Bachelor's degree and three years of law school, culminating in a J.D. degree. That works out to seven years of post-secondary education, minimum. There are also opportunities for post-graduate work in law, leading to an LLM or LLB, which is a legal master's degree beyond the standard Juris Doctor. Typical post-secondary education includes four years of undergraduate college, plus three years of law school (or seven years of education after high school). An LLM or LLB degree adds an additional year of study.
Have all US Supreme Court justices been lawyers?
No, eight of the nine members of the current Court served as US Court of Appeals Circuit judges prior to being elevated to the Supreme Court, and Justice Sotomayor has also served as a District Court (trial) judge. The newest justice to join the Court, Elena Kagan, is the lone exception; she has served as US Solicitor General, Associate White House Counsel, Dean of Harvard Law School, and as a Law Professor, but had no judicial experience prior to taking the Oath of Office on August 7, 2010. Having prior judicial experience is not a constitutional requirement, but a fairly recent trend toward seating justices with prior judicial experience for practical purposes. It was less common in the past to select candidates with judicial experience. At one time, members of the Court were more likely to be selected from the political ranks: former Senators, House members, cabinet members, State Governors, and members of State legislature were well represented. Some past justices had made distinguished careers as lawyers, and were selected on the basis of their legal reputations. Kagan was US Solicitor General immediately prior to her nomination, the first justice in 40 years not to have experience on the bench. There are no constitutionally mandated qualifications for Supreme Court Justices; however, all 112 past and present members of the Court are, or have been, lawyers.
What factors work to keep the US Supreme Court from deviating too far from public opinion?
The Supreme Court receives and reads amicus curiae ("friend of the court") briefs expressing the legal opinions of individuals or groups with a special interest in a case, but no legal standing to participate officially.The Supreme Court also takes note of trends in state laws, constitutional amendments, and court decisions. While the US Supreme Court is the highest appellate Court in the nation, the justices do consider state court verdicts and the reasoning behind them.On rare occasions, State and lower federal courts refuse to adhere to the doctrine of stare decisis (let the decision stand), challenging precedents on legal, social and political grounds. This forces the US Supreme Court to revisit an issue that had already been decided in light of prevailing attitudes. In the past, the justices have acquiesced to the arguments of lower courts (but the lower courts get scolded for taking this approach).Supreme Court justices don't live in a vacuum. Simply participating in society, reading, being exposed to the media, as well as local and world events, helps keep them in touch with public concerns.According to a December 2008 New York Times article, "Influence on the Supreme Court Bench Could Be an Inside Job," the justices' law clerks, who are usually recent law school graduates, also influence the Court's direction:"A new study in the DePaul Law Review claims to show that the political leanings of law clerks do influence the votes of Supreme Court justices. "The study is based on information about political party affiliations collected from more than 500 former clerks, and on standard measures of judicial ideology.""Over and above the influence of the justices' own policy preferences," the study concludes, "their clerks' policy preferences have an independent effect on their votes." Everything else being equal - the justice, the year, the case - the presence of additional liberal clerks in a given justice's chambers makes a liberal vote more likely, the study says, while the presence of additional conservative clerks pushes justices in the opposite direction."Liptak, Adam. "Influence on the Supreme Court Bench Could Be an Inside Job." New York Times [New York City] 08 Dec. 2008, Politics, Washington sec. Print.(See Related Links, below, to read the full article)Senators have a great deal of influence on the Court, both in terms of suggesting appropriate candidates, and in resisting confirmation of Supreme Court nominees whose ideology strays too far from the norm. President Reagan's failed nominee, Robert Bork, was rejected because of his ultraconservative beliefs.For a perspective on how the Supreme Court is insulated from public opinion, see Related Questions, below.
What is supreme student government?
supreme student government are the student body. They serve as a leader in a school and organized some events.
