Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
United States of America
Seal of the United States Supreme Court

This article is part of the series on the
 United States
Supreme Court

The Court

Decisions · Procedure
History · Court Building

Current membership

Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
John Paul Stevens
Antonin Scalia
Anthony Kennedy
David Souter
Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito

Retired Associate Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor

All members

List of all members
(by court • by seat • by time in office)
List of Chief Justices
(by time in office)

All nominations
Unsuccessful nominations

Court demographics

Court functionaries

Clerks · Reporter of Decisions
Supreme Court Police


Other countries · Law Portal
 This box: view  talk  edit 

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.[1] The current Clerk is William Suter, who has served since 1991.

[edit] History

The first Clerk was appointed on February 3, 1790, two days after the first of the court itself.[1] The position had been authorized by Congress on September 24, 1789, with the position's purpose being to "enter and record all the orders, decrees, judgments and proceedings of the said court."[2]

The Judicial Code (28 U.S.C. § 671) provides that the Clerk is appointed, and may be removed, by order of the Supreme Court. The Clerk's duties are prescribed by the statute and by Supreme Court Rule 1, and by the Court's customs and practices.

The Clerk of the Supreme Court is a court clerk. His role and that of his deputies and assistants should not be confused with the Court's law clerks, who assist the Justices by conducting research, making recommendations on which cases to hear, and preparing drafts of opinions.

The Clerk's Office is responsible for maintaining the dockets and records of the Court. However, since approximately 1960, most of the Court's non-current case files and other records have been placed in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration.

The Clerk is one of the Court's four statutory officers. The others are the Marshal, the Librarian, and the Reporter of Decisions.

[edit] List of Clerks

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b McGurn, Barrett. "The Court's Officers". Society Publications. Supreme Court Historical Society. Retrieved on 2007-04-25.
  2. ^ Messinger, I. Scott (2002-06-27). "Order in the Courts: A History of the Federal Court Clerk’s Office". Federal Judicial Center Publications. Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved on 2007-04-25.

[edit] External links

Personal tools