Guide to Finding Supreme Court Lawyer

A brief guide to Supreme Court lawyers

The United States Supreme Court is the highest law of the land, issuing judgments that can strike down federal legislation. As such, most citizens will never even have to think about hiring representation for such a court date, since most cases already have plenty of precedents pointing towards procedures for proper resolution. Not all attorneys are qualified to appear as a Supreme Court lawyer. Should you find yourself in need of one, here are some things you’ll need to know to make an informed decision.

Qualifications for Supreme Court lawyers

Not all attorneys are qualified to appear before all courts. Most states require any lawyer appearing before a federal or district court to take an oath and pay a fee. Similarly, appearing before the Supreme Court requires you to be admitted to that court’s bar.

To qualify to become a Supreme Court lawyer, you must:

• Have a certificate attesting you are a member in good standing of whatever the highest federal court is in your state or area

• Have been a member of that federal bar for at least three years

• Have referrals from two Supreme Court lawyers who are already part of the bar

• Sign an oath

• Pay a $200 fee

Only attorneys who have been admitted to the Supreme Court bar can argue before the court.

Cases Supreme Court lawyers handle

The US Supreme Court is the final word in interpreting American law. Because its potential power is so vast, the Constitution sets very strict guidelines on what kind of cases the body can hear.

Generally speaking, Supreme Court cases include:

• Legal issues where federal legislation is unclear or the law may have been misinterpreted

• Lawsuits between one state and another, or between a citizen and a state

Because the legal system has hundreds of years of precedents built into it, there are few situations in which whatever legal issues you face cannot be settled at a lower court level. While private citizens such as defendants appealing rulings against them have a small chance of needing the services of a Supreme Court lawyer, this is extremely unlikely.

How a case makes its way to the Supreme Court

There are a few situations in which a legal issue will begin and end at the Supreme Court, such as disputes between a state and the government. Otherwise, the court gets involved, when a case has not been resolved or appealed at the federal level.

To ask the Supreme Court to hear a case, a Supreme Court lawyer must submit a petition asking for a “writ of certiorari.” This essentially means the attorney is asking the Supreme Court to consider the possibility that a ruling

• has been issued on the basis of legal error

• that the laws upon which the ruling has been based are unclear

• that the case in question has important federal implications

• that an unusual miscarriage of justice has occurred

Even within the strict guidelines of its powers, the Supreme Court receives requests for far more rulings than it will hear. The Supreme Court is chooses to deny nearly all such petitions and only hears 80 to 150 cases a year out of over 7,000 applications. All these petitions are first reviewed by an internal staff which makes decisions about which should proceed directly to the judges. If four of the nine Supreme Court justices agree to hear the case, it may move forward.

Once a writ of certiorari is issued, Supreme Court lawyers prepare for oral arguments. Leading up to their appearance in court, attorneys:

• File briefs arguing for the merits of why the case should or should not proceed on behalf of a client

• Prepare “amicus curiae” briefs, in which interested parties known as “friends of the court” submit arguments for either side

On the day of his or her appearance in court, a Supreme Court lawyer:

• Presents a 30-minute oral argument

• Answers questions from the judges

• Offers constitutional or legal precedents for their argument

• Present the testimony of amicus curiae participants

What to expect in court

Once appointed, the nine justices of the Supreme Court are appointed for life. Until they retire or die, their job security is secure. This helps to ensure impartiality.

Because judges are expected to ask lawyers questions directly, the Supreme Court justices are free to express themselves in any way they see fit. Supreme Court lawyers should be prepared to be questioned rigorously and often skeptically. Every case is being judged at the highest possible standard. Even if you are one of the parties being represented, you may not be able to follow complicated, historically-based arguments.

After the hearing

A Supreme Court term technically lasts from the first Monday of October to the same date the next year. The justices hear oral arguments from October to April but are free to issue their final judgment at any time during the term. After your case is presented, there is no way to know for sure when a final verdict will be issued. In the case that the judges are evenly split, the verdict of a lower court stands but does not necessarily set a reliable legal precedent.
When the Court issues its decision, it does so in written form, known as a “bench opinion.” This document is made available to the public and reporters. In it, the Justices explain:

• their verdict

• the legal reasoning behind their decision

• whatever federal implications the verdict has

In these documents, there are statements both from the majority and minority judges explaining the decision for their vote. If the case is especially controversial, some judges may wish to include their own individual statements. At a later date, these opinions are gathered in law books known as the “United States Reports.” These documents establish precedents for future cases, and will be indispensable to any Supreme Court lawyer.