Text File

Supreme Court of the United States

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE BAR

Attached is the form for your personal application statement, as required by Supreme Court Rule 5.2, including space for endorsement by two sponsors. The sponsors must be members of the Bar of this Court who know you personally and are not related to you by blood or marriage. One of the sponsors or another member of the Bar, including a relative, may move your admission.

You must obtain a certificate of good standing from the presiding judge, clerk, or other authorized official of the highest court of a State, Commonwealth, Territory or Possession, or of the District of Columbia, evidencing the fact that you have been a member of the Bar of such court for at least three years and are in good standing. An application will be considered current for one year from the date of the clerk's certificate. After that time the papers will be returned. Do not submit a Bar Association certificate in place of the clerk's certificate.

Supreme Court Rule 5 provides, in part:

1. To qualify for admission to the Bar of this Court, an applicant must have been admitted to practice in the highest court of a State, Commonwealth, Territory or Possession, or the District of Columbia for a period of at least three years immediately before the date of application; must not have been the subject of any adverse disciplinary action pronounced or in effect during that 3-year period; and must appear to the Court to be of good moral and professional character.

2. Each applicant shall file with the Clerk (1) a certificate from the presiding judge, clerk, or other authorized official of that court evidencing the applicant's admission to practice there and the applicant's current good standing, and (2) a completely executed copy of the form approved by this Court and furnished by the Clerk containing (a) the applicant's personal statement, and (b) the statement of two sponsors endorsing the correctness of the applicant's statement, stating that the applicant possesses all the qualifications required for admission, and affirming that the applicant is of good moral and professional character. Both sponsors must be members of the Bar of this Court who personally know, but are not related to, the applicant.

3. If the documents submitted demonstrate that the applicant possesses the necessary qualifications, and if the applicant has signed the oath or affirmation and paid the required fee, the Clerk will notify the applicant of acceptance by the Court as a member of the Bar and issue a certificate of admission. An applicant who so wishes may be admitted in open court on oral motion by a member of the Bar of this Court, provided that all other requirements for admission have been satisfied.

4. Each applicant shall sign the following oath or affirmation: I, ........................................................ , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that as an attorney and as a counselor of this Court, I will conduct myself uprightly and according to law, and that I will support the Constitution of the United States.

IF YOU ELECT TO BE ADMITTED ON WRITTEN MOTION, without coming to the Court, please execute the oath (or affirmation) and have the attorney whose name you wish to appear on your certificate sign as the moving party. The attorney who moves your admission must be a member of the Bar of this Court and may be a relative. Return to the Clerk's Office, Attn: Admissions Office, the oath, your application, the required certificate, and your check for $100 payable to "U. S. Supreme Court" to cover the admission fee.

IF YOU ELECT TO BE ADMITTED IN OPEN COURT, do not complete the written oath and motion. Return your application and the required certificate to this Office, and we will notify you whether the papers are in order and will provide instruction for being admitted in open Court. The $100 fee is to be paid on the day of admission.

BAR CERTIFICATE. The Certificate evidencing admission to the Bar of this Court contains the following words: ". . . in the year of our Lord, two thousand." An alternate Certificate is available that omits the underlined words. If you want an alternate Certificate, check the block on the personal statement.

PLEASE RETURN TO: Admissions Office: Clerk, Supreme Court of the United States 202-479-3387 Attn: Admissions Office One First Street, N. E. Washington, D. C. 20543-0001 CLER0078200