Law clerks have assisted the justices of the United States Supreme Court in various capacities since the first one was hired by Justice Horace Gray in 1882.^[1] Each justice is permitted to have between three and four law clerks per Court term. Most persons serving in this capacity are recent law school graduates (and typically graduated at the top of their class).^[2] Among their many functions, clerks do legal research that assists justices in deciding what cases to accept and what questions to ask during oral arguments, prepare memoranda, and draft orders and opinions.^[3] After retiring from the Court, a justice may continue to employ a law clerk, who may be assigned to provide additional assistance to an active justice or may assist the retired justice when sitting by designation with a lower court.

Table of law clerks

The following is a table of law clerks serving the associate justice holding Supreme Court seat 10 (the Court's tenth associate justice seat by order of creation), which was established on April 10, 1869 by the 41st Congress through the Judiciary Act of 1869 (16 Stat. 44).^[4][a] This seat is currently occupied by Justice Clarence Thomas.